Challenge

Each year, Converse releases a special Day of the Dead collection, supported by campaign assets created by the HQ team, which are then adapted for retail by Global Partners worldwide. This year was different. With no campaign imagery provided, our team had two weeks to develop a creative concept, produce a low-budget photoshoot, and translate it into a retail toolkit for every participating market.

Without the resources typically behind the campaign [from custom sets and locations to talent], the challenge was to create a visual world that could feel culturally relevant, distinctly Converse, and strong enough to carry a global retail campaign.

Solution

Rather than relying on the familiar visual codes of Day of the Dead, I looked to Mexican modernism and the colorful architecture of its barrios to build a different representation of Mexico.

Drawing from the bold geometry of Barragán and Legorreta, I created a sculptural set of architectural planes, corners, and steps, using a palette pulled directly from the collection. I reinterpreted product illustrations as custom papel picado, then projected them through light and shadow for a more abstract nod to tradition.

Built and hand-painted from simple materials, the result transformed a limited production budget into a bold, distinctly Converse visual world.