LOS ANGELES — ComplexCon officials were duped into believing Dior would have a presence at the upcoming streetwear event by an agency that said it was acting on behalf of the luxury house, WWD has learned.
ComplexCon on Wednesday had announced Dior’s inclusion in the third annual festival, which is to be held Nov. 3 to 4. The deal had been viewed by ComplexCon — which melds fashion, music, food and art — as a push into luxury and a way to diversify its base of vendors exhibiting at the buzzy event. It would have underlined luxury’s continued charge into the streetwear space.
Neil Wright, ReedPop event director of ComplexCon and Agenda, issued a statement to WWD Friday morning in which he said, “Yesterday ReedPop learned that an agency that led us to believe they were representing Dior in negotiations to exhibit at ComplexCon did not have the authority to enter into agreements on behalf of the brand. We apologize to Dior for the confusion this caused and for our failure to discover the issue sooner. We are reviewing our internal policies and taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
A Dior spokeswoman said the company did not have comment on the matter on Friday.
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A spokeswoman for ComplexCon, reached by phone Friday, confirmed Dior would not have a presence at the November event and declined to provide details on the agency the company had been working with.
Wright said in his interview with WWD Wednesday that more luxury brand partnerships with ComplexCon were expected to be made. However, it would appear there’s no concern those deals are in jeopardy. The ComplexCon spokeswoman confirmed those partnerships did not involve the same agency representing itself to be working on behalf of Dior.