- WADE, virtual artist by IPX (F.K.A LINE FRIENDS), showcased his booth spanning entertainment, fashion, and Web 3.0 at ComplexCon 2022 in Long Beach, Los Angeles between November 19-20
- Unveiled “A Dream Within A Dream,” his first offline project that embodies a world where “diversity” is the new normal
- 13 ft-sized mega WADE figure, exclusive limited edition drops with emerging street fashion brands POST ARCHIVE FACTION (PAF) and ©SAINT Mxxxxxx (Saint Michael), unveiling of a new NFT project attracted a traffic of more than 15,000 visitors
- Visitors showed keen interest in WADE including renowned musicians and fashion enthusiasts such as PEACEMINUSONE’s G-Dragon, who partnered with the virtual artist in September this year
SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — WADE, the globally rising virtual artist and producer by IPX (F.K.A LINE FRIENDS) who has garnered attention for collaborations with reputable brands such as G-Dragon’s fashion label PEACEMINUSONE and Leica, attended ComplexCon 2022. Showcasing his unique booth covering entertainment, fashion, and the concept of Web 3.0 WADE recorded a traffic of more than 15,000 visitors and artists.
ComplexCon, an annual festival that brings together the world’s most influential brands of diverse cultures through fashion, music and food was held this year in Long Beach, Los Angeles between November 19-20.
WADE debuted his first offline project at the festival, titled “A Dream Within A Dream,” which encapsulates a world where diversity becomes the new norm. The booth drew heavy attention not only for its massive 13 ft-sized figure of WADE in his dream, but also for the launch of exclusive limited edition collaboration items with global fashion labels POST ARCHIVE FACTION (PAF) and ©SAINT Mxxxxxx (Saint Michael). Iconic brands and celebrities, including fashion enthusiast G-Dragon visited the booth and showed avid interest in the virtual artist and producer. G-Dragon and his fashion label PEACEMINUSONE has a history of working with WADE in the past through a partnership signed in September 2022. WADE drew attention by foreshadowing the partnership that crosses the boundaries of digital and offline in fashion, culture, and art.
At this year’s ComplexCon, IPX worked closely with PAF to build the overall concept and design of the booth, as well as jointly dropping a Complex-exclusive collection including a technical jacket, balaclava, and t-shirts whereby the designs were strongly influenced by the appearance and overall vibe of the mutant-made-of-water WADE. Moreover, the company unveiled a new NFT representing the exclusive limited edition PAF collection for existing membership holders of WADE Family & Friends (WADE F&F). The project has a history of achieving great results, reaching a first-place rank on the leaderboard for trending NFTs on OpenSea and marked as the NFT that garnered the most trading volume within 24-hours on Magic Eden. IPX also piqued the interest of fashionistas with its collaborative collection with global streetwear brands Emotionally Unavailable (EU) and CLOT.
“We were overwhelmed by the amount of attention WADE drew at ComplexCon, receiving much positive feedback from renowned artists and labels, including PEACEMINUSONE’s G-Dragon,” said an IPX official and added, “WADE will continue his journey crossing both offline and online channels working with global brands spanning fashion, music, and entertainment”.
Meanwhile, ComplexCon 2022 was hosted and artistically directed by VERDY, founder of Girls Don’t Cry, and attracted many celebrities and labels including NIGO, the creator of streetwear brand HUMAN MADE, sportswear brand NIKE, UNDERCOVER, rapper and singer Lil Uzi Vert, and LA’s underground record label Soulection.
About IPX (F.K.A LINE FRIENDS)
IPX is the new corporate name of LINE FRIENDS, a global character brand that originally started from Original Characters including BROWN, CONY, created for use as stickers for the leading mobile messenger app LINE and its 200 million active users worldwide. IPX announced itself as a ‘digital IP platform’ company to enter the digital IP based metaverse and NFT business. IPX announced its vision of IP 3.0 – allowing anyone to create, own, and generate revenue from IPs – and unveiled ‘FRENZ,’ a new IP generator platform where users can create personal character IPs for utilization in metaverse and NFT services. Through strategic partnerships with various companies, and its digital IP ‘OOZ & mates,’ virtual artist ‘WADE’, IPX is expanding its metaverse and NFT businesses and expertise. Meanwhile, IPX has created popular IPs including ‘BT21’ (BTS) and broadened their boundaries to virtual influencers. Moreover, IPX has expanded its IP-based business by partnering with global companies including Netflix (original animated series), SUPERCELL (Brawl Stars) and NEXON (KartRider).
About WADE
WADE (@WORLDWIDE.WADE) is a virtual artist immersed in subculture created by IPX and global creative consultant KB LEE (@FAKESICKNESS). A mutant made-of-water, WADE is also a DJ and producer who works in a variety of fields including music, fashion, and NFT. He embraces everything without prejudice and is known for his values of respecting diversity regardless of gender, race, or class. His activities transcend genre boundaries, and he inspires those who seek values based on their own senses and perspectives. WADE is making waves both online and offline, having recently collaborated with brands including G-DRAGON’s fashion label ‘PEACEMINUSONE’ and global vintage-aesthetic fashion label ‘©SAINT Mxxxxxx’ (Saint Michael), and dived into the membership NFT space, which is all the rage in Web 3.0.