New Era Champions Creative Freedom And Cultural Connection Through Exclusive Collaborations With Nigel Sylvester And More At ComplexCon

New Era, the international sports and lifestyle brand, is once again proving it’s more than a cap company — it’s a cultural connector.

As the Official Headwear Sponsor of ComplexCon 2025, the brand returned to Las Vegas, NV, to show how creativity thrives when it’s unrestricted.

Held Oct. 25-26 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, ComplexCon has established itself as the epicenter of convergence culture since its inception in Long Beach in 2016.

The festival is known for exclusive releases from brands like Nike, adidas, and more, as well as appearances from cultural icons.

This year, for New Era, the company’s presence goes beyond headwear — it’s about creative freedom, diverse collaboration, and authentic storytelling. That’s exactly what its latest partners — Nigel Sylvester, Rodrigo Roji, Eastside Golf, and Warren Lotas — brought to the floor.

“This one’s huge for us because we’re the Official Headwear Sponsor of ComplexCon 2025 and ComplexCon is like the Super Bowl of culture,” said Mark Maidment, senior vice president of marketing and brand at New Era, to AFROTECH™ in an interview ahead of the event. “We’ve been there before, but not to this scale.”

While New Era has over a century of history, it has pushed boundaries by never being content with living in the past, which is why they showed up to ComplexCon in its biggest and most innovative way yet to showcase these collaborations.

“Creativity and innovation are how you create legacy and heritage,” Maidment told us. “We wake up every day saying, ‘What can we do that’s challenging, different, disruptive, new?’”

He continued, “So, working with these kind of partners, does that.”

New Era’s Forward-Thinking Experience

That forward-thinking mindset is reflected in the brand’s 2025 booth. Visitors were able to partake in a fully immersive experience featuring four exclusive collaborations — each designed to be as bold and diverse as the creatives behind them. Exclusive New Era ComplexCon caps came in two classic silhouettes, the 9TWENTY® and 9FIFTY®.

Professional BMX athlete and Queens native Nigel Sylvester also took over part of the booth to recreate a real-life bike shop, complete with live bike builds and giveaways. His exclusive collection with New Era at ComplexCon featured two New York Yankees caps, both available in the classic 59FIFTY® silhouette.

“For a brand like New Era to be as global and as massive as they are — giving opportunities to design on arguably the most famous and notable hat in the world — the New York Yankees hat [that fitted] is so iconic. To design [and] tell a story that we’re really passionate about and put our New York experience through this filter — that’s important,” Sylvester told AFROTECH™. “I feel like kids will see that. People will see that. The culture will see that and be like, ‘Okay, that’s super dope that they came together and gave this back to us.”

Sylvester, who has collaborated with New Era for over a decade, sees this moment as more than just a product release.

“I’ve been in partnership with New Era for over a decade now, and my respect for the brand runs deep,” the pro athlete told us.

He added, “Over the years, I’ve come to know New Era as a brand that values meaningful collaboration — it’s refreshing.”

That same spirit of purpose is what makes ComplexCon the ideal setting for this drop.

Collaboration With Creative Freedom, Not Compromise

“ComplexCon is the perfect stage to release this collaboration with the Rushmore collective. It’s a cultural hub where people from all walks of life come together to celebrate creativity and community. Sharing this space with Rodrigo, Eastside Golf, and Warren Lotas is a testament to how deeply New Era invests in elevating culture through sport, art, and creativity.”

Roji, a Mexican artist, is also leaning into his roots with a tattoo parlor-themed activation. Known for his white five-petal flower — a symbol of resilience — Roji’s capsule blends his fine art with streetwear sensibility.

Meanwhile, Eastside Golf founders Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper are fusing basketball and golf to create the Eastside Golf Club experience. Their section of the booth included putting greens, arcade hoops, and more. The Eastside Golf caps featured 10 NBA teams and came exclusively in the 9FIFTY® A-Frame silhouette for purchase.

Lastly, Lotas brings his gritty Los Angeles streetwear aesthetic to life through RealTree camo caps featuring MLB logos and his signature skull motifs. Each hat includes a side patch that tells a unique story, embodying the brand’s rebellious edge.

But perhaps the most dynamic part of the New Era booth was the on-site customization zone, where fans could personalize their hats with pins, brooches, distressing, and more. According to Maidment, it’s not just about embellishment — it’s about expression.

“We’re very much leaning into customization and the diversity, not just diversity of people in geography,” he explained to us. “But the diversity of the creativity that the four collaboration partners have brought to us.”

Maidment also added, “Obviously creative diversity also comes from diverse culture. So we’ve got this incredible eclectic collection of people, which is what New Era is all about.”

Supporting New Creatives

Beyond the booth, New Era is committed to investing in emerging creatives. The company works with creatives of all sizes and scopes and aims to provide support in various areas.

“We love working with new creatives. When we see someone who’s got a passion, a vision, and has worked really hard, there’s nothing that gives us more joy,” he told AFROTECH™.  “We spend a disproportionate amount of time enabling and working with new creatives. We can do small runs of products. So someone will say, ‘Oh, how many caps do I need to buy?” You don’t need to buy [that] many caps, let’s just develop this stuff. We could do 36 caps. Let’s start with 36 caps. That’s going to cost you next to nothing to purchase those caps. So we will make sure that we’re supporting [and] enabling. We’ll also support with marketing dollars and with marketing expertise.”

He continued, “We would put the whole team around to support the launch of that product to make sure it’s very successful.”

New Era isn’t just showcasing products — it’s building platforms. Each collaboration, each cap, and each activation is a reminder that when creativity is respected and nurtured, culture moves forward, which is was apparent with Sylvester’s latest collaboration.

“For me, it’s always been about more than just hats — it’s about how New Era continues to push culture forward,” Sylvester said about the partnership. “They’ve giving creatives like myself a true canvas to live out my imagination and produce quality pieces that resonate.”