Creative Direction, Creative Production , AI Concept Artist, Set Designer
Super Colmado Zean
Super Colmado Zean is a collection that pays tribute to the Dominican colmado reimagining it as a space steeped in memory, culture, community, everyday aesthetics, and economic resilience. More than just garments, this collection wears the textures of nostalgia, the rhythm of daily life, and the vibrant symbols of Dominican identity. Drawing from the colmado as a social compass and a stage for countless archetypes, each piece is inspired by the characters, stories, and soulful dynamics of this beloved neighborhood institution.
Creative process
The creative process began with a deep dive into our own culture searching for ideas that could be translated into visually compelling pieces. It was an investigation rooted in observation and memory, exploring barrios, colmados, and iconic local spaces where Dominican identity is most alive. We treated these everyday places as archives of high culture, capturing textures, colors, habits, and symbols through photography and field notes. These references became the foundation visual building blocks which we then distilled into sketches, drafts, and prototypes that gave form to our vision. From research to design, every step was about honoring the familiar while reimagining it through a new, intentional lens.
The design phase was where the vision took shape. We began by building each look piece by piece, making sure every garment could stand alone telling its own story yet collectively form a visual universe of the archetypes that coexist in the Dominican colmado. Every sketch started digitally; a wide canvas of experimentation where we played with silhouettes, textures, and color language. From there, we curated only the most refined concepts earned their place in the next phase. We sourced and tested fabrics obsessively, balancing function with aesthetic until each garment felt both lived-in and elevated. Once we reached the prototyping stage, the focus shifted to precision: we went through multiple dummies for every look, refining finishes, structure, and movement. By the time we hit production, every piece had already been pressure-tested to reflect the exact tone and texture of our vision functional, poetic, and made to speak both on and off the runway.
Arquetipos
Super Colmado ZEAN turns everyday neighborhood figures into living archetypes of the Dominican imagination. The colmado becomes a daily runway where generations, beliefs, and social codes collide. Each look captures a way of moving through space. Through silhouette, textile, and pattern, the garments become portraits of lived culture.
El Basquetbolista®
Inspired by classic basketball jerseys especially the iconic Chicago Bulls uniform worn by Michael Jordan this look reimagines a staple seen across Dominican neighborhoods: the jersey layered over a plain white tee. From that everyday image, we created a single, unified garment that fuses both pieces into one. The look is completed with matching shorts. Basketball is more than a sport in the barrio it’s part of daily life, and no matter where you go, a Bulls jersey is instantly recognized in the Dominican Republic.
El Limpiabota®
We designed a bag inspired by the traditional limpiabotas box a tribute to the honest, hard work it represents. The shorts take cues from the Dominican chichigua (kite), both in their structure and stitching, evoking childhood memories. Sadly, many limpiabotas are children or teenagers who’ve had to trade play for responsibility too soon. The t-shirt, with visible folds and embroidered details, reflects the wear and tear of everyday life in the streets.
El Don®
This look pays tribute to the elder men (el don) of the barrio many of whom lived through the Trujillo dictatorship and stood against it. We developed a graphic inspired by the currency used during that era the propaganda bill marked “A vote for Trujillo”, and the counter-bill dropped from exile that read “A vote against Trujillo.” The pants reflect the classic elegance of the 60s and 70s a timeless silhouette still worn with quiet pride by the “dons” of today. This is the communist don cultured, sharp, and always ready to discuss history and politics with a cold beer in hand at the local colmado.
La Chapiadora®
We developed a pattern inspired by the iconic pink plastic bags and transformed it into a translucent dress designed to feel like a real funda. On the back, we added a label detail referencing the classic colmado receipt, crafted from recycled polyester. This look embodies a sensual, provocative character who plays with visibility, aesthetics, and the intention of being seen. It’s bold, playful, and unapologetically attention-seeking a statement in both form and function.
El Delivery®
This look features a black long sleeve shirt with a back graphic of a classic Dominican car, bearing the message “Ya Cristo Viene” and a custom Zean license plate capturing that raw, street-born visual language that’s deeply ours. It’s paired with a lightweight balaclava-style hood, reminiscent of those worn by nighttime motorcyclists, adding an urban, anonymous, and functional edge. The result is a look that channels the unfiltered aesthetic of the barrio, drawing directly from Dominican visual culture and its everyday symbolism.
La Sierva de Dios®
Inspired by the urban signs that read “Jesús te ama” or “Cristo viene”, we created a graphic that echoes that visual language and applied it to a look referencing Pentecostal evangelical street preachers. We paired it with an oversized formal trouser to exaggerate the distinct silhouette often seen in these figures a familiar presence on Dominican streets. The result is both a cultural snapshot and a reinterpretation of faith as streetwear symbolism.
El Colmadero®
Inspired by the iconic striped plastic bags from Dominican colmados, we created a custom vertical-line pattern printed on a translucent shirt made from ocean-recycled polyester. As a subtle tribute to everyday rituals, we added a design detail based on the taped receipt often found on colmado delivery orders. The look is finished with fine tailored trousers representing the micro-entrepreneur, the neighborhood colmadero. More than fashion, this piece delivers a message about our environmental reality: every minute, over one million plastic bags are produced.
El Malito®
The malito is the para the standout of the barrio. For him, we designed a colmado-style cap and a full black-washed denim set, oversized with flared pants. He’s the tiguerito who’s always on trend, effortlessly cool. The look is completed with our signature “Fundita de Colmado Shirt” in black, reimagined in an oversized cut. A bold, street-rooted silhouette that captures style, swagger, and pure neighborhood energy.
Zean brand launch invitation
We launched a product with feeling. A bottled memory.
A conversation piece into the collection.
For our debut at RD Fashion Week, we created Zean Cerveza: a limited-edition pilsener rooted in Dominican legacy and filtered through a modern lens. Inspired by the golden era of Presidente ads from the 60s.
Each bottle was sent to the people who help build culture with us collaborators, investors, creators, community. As an invitation to join the brand's vision.
Zean Beer inspiration
We created our own beer, a reinterpretation inspired by Cerveza Presidente the iconic Dominican beer that’s been a staple since the 50s and 60s. Tapping into the charm of vintage Presidente ads, we built a world that celebrates its legacy while remixing it through a contemporary lens. Our campaign borrows from the playful optimism and graphic language of mid-century Dominican commercials honoring the past while brewing something distinctly new.
Zean on the Runway, RD Fashionweek
For our debut, we chose not to follow the traditional runway format. Instead of models simply walking, we staged a performance a live storytelling experience built around character, movement, and atmosphere. Each look was designed to represent a specific archetype found in the Dominican colmado, and each model was cast to embody that role not just wear it. Every character came to life through action: the basketball player entered dribbling a ball, La Chapiadora flirted her way down the space, owning every gaze, the delivery guy showed up with a bag of bread ready to drop off, and the shoeshiners walked out as a pair, bags in hand just like you’d see on the street.
Scoring the Story
The soundtrack was a single, curated audio piece a continuous mix of original score, ambient sounds, and Dominican music archives. Each character had their own custom moment in the mix, with the sound shifting to match their energy and presence. The music became the invisible script, guiding the performance and deepening the narrative.
CREDITS:
SUPER COLMADO ZEAN
Spring Summer 2026
by Ismael Sánchezy
Creative Director & Designer: Ismael Sánchez
Producer: Christian Pérez
Storytelling: Ismael Sánchez, Christian Pérez, Edgar Del Toro
Photography: Angelo Beato
Models: Miguel R. Vargas, Alix Padilla,
Jhean Pérez & Wilkeny Montero
Fashion Consulting: Erick Lemos
Creative Consulting: Angelo Beato
Styling: Ismael Sánchez
Make Up: Rosa Guerrero @rosafguerrero
Hair: Ysiana Jiménez @HairByYsiJim
Set Design: Edgar Del Toro
Previsualization Artist: Edgar Del Toro
Set Built:Newton González, Haylin Peña
Architect: Newton González
Gaffer: Elbert Lora
Grip: Leona Polanco
PA: Edgar Del Toro, Gipsy Fermín
Massive shoutout to...
Francisca Felix, Melkis Díaz, Ray Torres,
José Duluc, Jorge Gómez, Diana De Los Santos,
Duainy Soto, Edward Gragirena, RD Fashion Week 2025.