How Bad Bunny turned the Super Bowl into a high street fashion moment

Bad Bunny delivered one of the most stand-out fashion moments of the year during the US Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday. Instead of opting for high-end couture, as is usual for these halftime shows, he chose restraint and accessibility for the global stage.

The Puerto Rican artist, 31, made history as the first performer to headline a Super Bowl halftime show entirely in Spanish, but within fashion circles, attention quickly turned to his wardrobe.

Rather than aligning himself with a luxury house, Bad Bunny stepped onto the field wearing a monochromatic cream look designed by ZARA, positioning the Spanish high-street giant at the centre of one of the most widely viewed cultural moments of the year.

Bad Bunny stepped out in a head-to-toe cream look by ZARA (Kindell Buchanan/PA)

The decision marked a sharp contrast to his recent red-carpet appearances. Just days earlier, Bad Bunny attended the Grammy Awards in a sleek menswear look by Schiaparelli, a debut menswear moment for the Paris-based maison.

The pivot from couture to high street was not accidental, instead it underlined a growing theme in the artist’s fashion narrative: rejecting hierarchy in favour of style.

Bad Bunny wore Schiaparelli at the Grammys (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Styled by frequent collaborators Storm Pablo and Marvin Douglas Linares, the halftime look was remarkably pared-back.

Bad Bunny wore an all-cream ensemble consisting of a collared shirt and tie, chinos and a sport-inspired jersey bearing the name “Ocasio” – his surname – and the number 64. The significance of the number was not confirmed, but fans were quick to speculate that it referenced his mother’s birth year.

The neutral palette allowed the silhouette and concept to take precedence over branding, a notable move given the commercial visibility of the Super Bowl.

Fans have speculated that the 64 on Bad Bunny’s jumper is a reference to his mother’s birth year (Kindell Buchanan/PA)

Rather than using logos or embellishment to draw attention, the look relied on styling cohesion and narrative – an approach more commonly associated with editorial fashion than live performance dressing.

Footwear added another layer of interest. Bad Bunny wore the BadBo 1.0 trainer, his collaborative design with Adidas, unveiled in a new colourway ahead of its official release.

The timing placed the product directly in front of one of the largest television audiences in the world, blurring the line between performance styling and product launch.

Accessories were similarly restrained. He paired the look with cream gloves and a Royal Oak timepiece by Audemars Piguet, featuring a yellow gold case and malachite dial.

The watch choice introduced an element of luxury without disrupting the overall outfit.

Midway through the performance, Bad Bunny was joined on stage by Lady Gaga, who appeared in custom Luar.

Lady Gaga joined Bad Bunny in Luar for the halftime show (Kindell Buchanan/PA)

Gaga’s cornflower blue, Flamenco-style silhouette stood in sharp contrast to Bad Bunny’s pared-back uniform, highlighting the range of fashion labels now present on the halftime stage – from emerging New York designers to global retail powerhouses.

The performance took place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, during a Super Bowl weekend that has increasingly become a focal point for the fashion industry.

In the days leading up to the game, Thom Browne staged its autumn/winter 2026 show at the GQ Bowl, while Abercrombie & Fitch, now the NFL’s official fashion partner, hosted a league-backed presentation featuring high-profile players and their partners. Collectively, the events reinforced the Super Bowl’s evolution into a hybrid of sport, entertainment and fashion marketing.

Against this backdrop, Bad Bunny’s choice of ZARA seemed like a calculated style look rather than a departure. In a post-show statement, ZARA described the look as part of a “memorable performance,” maintaining a tone that mirrored the understated nature of the styling.

Bad Bunny donned a double-breasted blazer later in the show (Kindell Buchanan/PA)

Later in the evening, Bad Bunny introduced a second ZARA look – a cream double-breasted blazer layered over the original outfit. The change was incremental rather than transformative, reinforcing continuity rather than bold statements, while underscoring the idea that fashion does not always require theatrics.

For an artist long associated with maximalism, Bad Bunny has repeatedly positioned fashion as an extension of identity rather than an add-on to the performance, favouring clothing that feels self-directed rather than externally styled.

By placing a high-street brand alongside luxury watchmaking and global sportswear, Bad Bunny demonstrated that fashion impact should and is not solely defined by price point, but by point of view.