Bad Bunny Treats Luxury Fashion as a Storytelling Tool

When it comes to fashion—Bad Bunny’s looks always hit. The Puerto Rican superstar artist arrived at Maison Schiaparelli’s Fall/Winter 2026-27 show in Paris on July 6th, pairing his butter-yellow Schiaparelli suit with a braided golden hair tie and a series of symbolic gold brooches. Some referenced Schiaparelli’s signature house codes—the keyhole and the evil eye—while others were nods to his Puerto Rican heritage and music, including the iconic Debí Tirar Más Fotos chair, the coquí frog, and the one-eyed heart from Un Verano Sin Ti. Our guy also rocked the hell out of those heeled cowboy boots and that single gold hoop earring. 

Every detail was intentional, something we’ve come to expect from Bad Bunny. But while the braided tie became the accessory that everyone seemed to fixate on, it was only one element of a look that wove together both Schiaparelli’s surrealist house codes and Bad Bunny’s own artistic universe and Puerto Rican identity. His fashion has never been about wearing luxury labels for their own sake. It’s about bringing Puerto Rico into rooms that have historically expected artists to leave their cultural identity at the door.

Historically, luxury fashion has been shaped by European ideals of elegance and sophistication, often asking brown and Black artists to navigate those codes before fully being embraced by the industry. Over time, figures like André Leon Talley, Dapper Dan, Willy Chavarria, Jennifer Lopez, J Balvin, Beyoncé, Rihanna and more challenged those expectations in different ways, expanding who belonged in luxury fashion and how culture could exist within it. Bad Bunny builds on that legacy, but his approach feels distinctly his own. Rather than treating Puerto Rican identity as something to be translated for luxury audiences, he makes it the starting point. His fashion doesn’t simply reference Puerto Rico—it insists that Puerto Rico enters these spaces on its own terms.

This is precisely what’s made him a fashion icon. Bad Bunny hasn’t just collaborated with brands like Adidas, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Jacquemus, and Zara. He’s used fashion as a vehicle to celebrate Puerto Rico while showing people of color that style doesn’t have to conform to traditional European standards of sophistication to be considered elegant or luxurious. Time and time again, he draws from his Puerto Rican heritage, pairing high fashion with deeply personal and cultural references.

We saw that in the Super Bowl Halftime performance, where he wore a double-breasted blazer, jersey, collared shirt and tie, and cream-colored chinos—all designed by the Spanish retailer Zara. But what made the look memorable were the details. The number 64 refers to the birth year of his late uncle Cutito, whom his publicist has said taught Benito everything he knows about the NFL. The cream-colored chinos nodded to everyday Puerto Rican style, while his dancers wore traditional jíbaro straw hats, known as pavas.

Throughout his 30-show Puerto Rico residency, No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí, Benito and many of his dancers also wore custom guayaberas and pavas, further centering Puerto Rican dress and identity. At the 2025 Met Gala, he once again put Puerto Rican culture front and center by pairing a custom Prada suit with a pava hat. Even his Zara collaboration—despite the controversy surrounding his partnership with a Spanish retailer—captured the laid-back spirit of Puerto Rico through breezy, beach-inspired silhouettes.

Whether the references are bold or subtle, Bad Bunny rarely separates fashion from cultural storytelling. From his music to his wardrobe, Puerto Rico isn’t an accessory to his identity—it’s the foundation of it.

We’re increasingly seeing audiences reward artists who maintain a strong sense of cultural specificity. But luxury brands aren’t necessarily leading that shift—they’re responding to it. Bad Bunny has shown that luxury fashion doesn’t have to flatten cultural identity—it can become another way of telling Puerto Rico’s story. In many ways, He is practicing cultural authorship, which goes far beyond simply representing his Puerto Rican heritage. He’s intentionally deciding how Puerto Rico is seen. Rather than waiting for European fashion houses to acknowledge his culture, he uses both fashion and music to tell its story on his own terms—even while wearing their designs.

As a storyteller, Bad Bunny understands that whoever controls the narrative shapes how a culture is perceived. That’s why he’s been so effective not only at bringing attention to the political issues affecting Puerto Rico and Latine communities, but also at celebrating the richness, complexity, and beauty of Puerto Rican identity. Every detail—from the pava jíbaro hat to the symbolic gold brooches on his Schiaparelli suit—helps tell that story. 

That’s why everyone was talking about Bad Bunny’s tie in Paris. But the tie was never the story. It was simply the detail that got people paying attention. He is not leaving culture at the door—or conforming to European ideas of elegance and sophistication—to belong in luxury fashion. You can show up exactly as you are and, in doing so, expand what luxury looks like. It’s no coincidence that Vogue named him one of its 55 Best-Dressed People of 2025. His influence isn’t rooted in how well he’s adapted to fashion’s rules, but in how consistently he’s challenged them while remaining unmistakably Puerto Rican—pa’ que lo sepas!