Mosaico Colonial
This collection represents Carlos De Moya’s deep love letter to Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone, transforming the architectural treasures and cultural essence of the first European city in the Americas into a sophisticated fashion narrative. This collection evolved from his previous Colonial Zone exploration, Zonero Soy (2016), taking the designer’s vision further by focusing specifically on the intricate mosaics, patterns, and cultural layering that define the historic district’s unique character.
The collection celebrates the Caribbean’s rich cultural mosaic—the harmonious blending of TaÃno, Spanish, and African influences that created a distinct identity visible in every cobblestone, colonial facade, and architectural detail of the Zona Colonial. Through original prints inspired by colonial home patterns, ruffles evoking Spanish heritage, and bogolan-inspired designs representing African traditions, De Moya created a visual representation of Caribbean cultural synthesis.
Mosaico Colonial fulfilled a designer’s dream deferred. Having presented Zonero Soy at the Hotel El Embajador in 2016, De Moya yearned to show a Colonial Zone-inspired collection within the historic center itself. When DominicanaModa 2017 announced the event would be held in the Zona Colonial for the first time, De Moya seized the opportunity to present his collection on October 20, 2017, at 10:30 AM on the historic stones next to what he describes as “the first staircase of the New World”—bringing his designs home to the very streets that inspired them.
PROJECT CONCEPT
Mosaico Colonial approached the Colonial Zone not as a museum piece but as a living, breathing source of contemporary inspiration. De Moya’s walks through the historic district became research expeditions, gathering visual data from colonial facades, ironwork details, courtyard patterns, and the unique light quality that filters through centuries-old architecture. This collection represented a maturation of his Colonial Zone exploration, moving beyond the bold, vibrant celebration of Zonero Soy to a more nuanced, pattern-focused investigation of cultural layering.
The design philosophy centered on the concept of “mosaic” as both literal pattern and metaphorical framework. Just as traditional mosaics create cohesive images from individual tiles, Caribbean culture creates a unified identity from diverse cultural fragments. De Moya’s original prints translated this concept into fashion, creating textiles that mimicked mosaic patterns while incorporating hieroglyphic-inspired elements (referencing TaÃno petroglyphs) and bogolan motifs (honoring African textile traditions).
De Moya’s background in digital design and his partnership with Epson’s sublimation technology (established during his 2016-2017 work) allowed him to create prints with unprecedented specificity. Rather than approximating colonial patterns, he could reproduce the exact visual language of the Zona Colonial, ensuring authenticity in every textile design.
The collection showcased De Moya’s signature approach: using fashion as cultural storytelling. Each garment served as a wearable narrative about Caribbean identity, architectural preservation, and the ongoing relevance of historical influence in contemporary design.
Performance & Presentation
The October 20, 2017, presentation of Mosaico Colonial at DominicanaModa 2017 marked a watershed moment for both the designer and Dominican fashion. For the first time in the event’s history, the entire fashion week relocated from the traditional Hotel El Embajador venue to multiple locations throughout the Colonial Zone, allowing designers to present collections in direct dialogue with the historic architecture that inspired them.
De Moya’s show took place at one of the most symbolically significant locations—the historic steps in the Colonial Zone, which he described as “the stones of the first staircase of the New World.” This location choice was not mere aesthetics but a profound statement about the relationship between fashion, cultural heritage, and place. The models literally walked the same stones that had witnessed five centuries of Caribbean history, creating a layered performance that merged past and present.
The collection also demonstrated the viability of place-based fashion narratives in international contexts. While deeply rooted in Santo Domingo’s specific architectural and cultural history, Mosaico Colonial spoke to universal themes of cultural synthesis, heritage preservation, and the ongoing relevance of historical influence in contemporary creativity.
StyleWeek Northeast Providence Presentation
Mosaico Colonial also served as the closing presentation for StyleWeek Northeast Season 14 in Providence, Rhode Island, held February 21-24, 2018, at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Carlos De Moya was among the featured international designers for the event, bringing his “breezy Dominican dresses” to the New England fashion week alongside designers Tallulah & Poppy and Jamall Osterholm. Rhode Island Monthly described the closing night as featuring “designers that ran the fashion gamut from ready-to-wear career wear to breezy Dominican dresses,” highlighting De Moya’s distinctive Caribbean aesthetic on the StyleWeek runway. This presentation marked another milestone in the collection’s journey from the historic stones of Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone to the contemporary fashion stages of the United States, demonstrating the universal appeal of De Moya’s culturally-rooted design vision.
