On Sunday, the Bronx was inundated with nearly 50,000 people dressed for a day in the sun. But they weren’t on their way to Orchard Beach or Pelham Bay Park, two of the New York borough’s most popular spots to take a dip. Rather, the bikini-clad crowd headed to Yankee Stadium, where Bad Bunny — the Puerto Rican artist who went from grocery bagger to the world’s biggest pop star in six years — was holding the second of two concerts in New York City for his first stadium tour.
They were there to sing along hits like “Efecto” and “Después de la Playa” from his chart-topping fourth album, Un Verano Sin Ti, which was inspired by the year-round summer weather in his home country. And so the conejitos came prepared, sporting some of the season’s biggest trends; references to Bad Bunny’s universe, from tattoos that bore his lyrics to “Un Verano Sin Ti” cover-art jeans; his collaborations with Adidas and Cheetos; and nods to the archipelago that he calls home, or “P FKN R.”
“This album and tour is just a vibe,” Joarly Vasquez told Refinery29 outside Yankee Stadium while wearing a blue mini dress with white platform boots. “I feel like this outfit gives that because it’s carefree. I put this on and felt more confident. It’s giving ‘bad bitch’ vibes.”
This style philosophy is at the heart of the Bad Bunny fandom: Although disparaged by religious and conservative figures in Puerto Rico as “demeaning,” many women, non-binary, and trans individuals find themselves empowered by the artist’s unapologetically sexual lyrics that are as poetic as they are explicit. For example, in “Andrea,” his collaboration with Puerto Rican band Buscabulla, Bad Bunny describes a woman who, no matter what life throws at her, se acicala y se ve cabrona (gets ready and looks amazing). In “Yo Perreo Sola,” Bad Bunny narrates the night of a woman who’s so tired of being harassed at the club, she’d rather dance alone in her mini skirt and Louis Vuitton sneakers.
It’s clear from the style choices outside of the concert that Bad Bunny fans feel inspired to show up dressed exactly the way they are, the embodiment of the song “Yo Visto Así” from his third album, “El Último Tour del Mundo”: “I dress like this, I’m not going to change. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to look.” But walking outside Yankee Stadium, even as a crowd of thousands lined up, you couldn’t help but stare. “I actually brought my camera with me, so I’m excited to see what everyone is bringing to the table,” says Monica Patten. “It’s the end of summer and we have to go big.”
That sense of liberation is on full display in every outfit: leather corsets in neon hues, micro mini skirts, a plethora of cut-outs, crochet tops, bucket hats, platform heels, Y2k-inspired arm cuffs, and Barbiecore fashion. Bikini tops were a top trend, too. Brittany Castellano opted for this formula, sporting a white bikini style with green psychedelic-print pants. “I was just trying to match the theme,” she says. “I’m really inspired by what people are wearing today.” Meanwhile, Leslie Soto sported a bikini top paired with a satin skirt, a look influenced by a search on TikTok which is unsurprising: The hashtag #badbunnyconcertoutfit has gathered nearly 4 million views on the app, with fans sharing their outfit ideas, “get ready with me” videos, and the top trends they saw at the concerts.
Others paid homage to the tour by referencing the Un Verano Sin Ti album cover art — a heart-shaped illustration that’s become the symbol of Bad Bunny’s latest era. To echo the artwork, Patten wore a black-and-red crochet top, while TikTok creator Alyssa Gonzalez spotrted a custom-painted pair of jeans, a bikini set, and a red garter belt, which, according to a video on her channel, she made 24 hours prior to the concert. “I always knew in my brain what I was wearing, but I never actually put it together until this morning,” she revealed on TikTok.
On this night, Bad Bunny would become the first-ever Latino to win the Artist of the Year award at the MTV VMAs, a prize he accepted live from the stage at the Yankee Stadium in a speech entirely in Spanish. “I always knew that I could be one of the biggest artists in the world without changing my culture, my language, my slang,” he said. For a generation of Latinos who’ve been told they have to strip their native languages off their tongues to climb to the top, Bad Bunny is a model of cultural pride. As such, the conejitos marched into Yankee Stadium carrying their cultures with them: Puerto Rican flags, baseball caps from the Dominican Republic, bikini tops bearing the Brazilian flag. The night before, when I attended the concert, I sported a T-shirt featuring the face of Puerto Rican salsero Frankie Ruiz and a leather jacket with the Puerto Rican flag on its back, a look that, just as Bad Bunny said onstage during his speech the following night, screamed, “From Puerto Rico to the world.”
As Bad Bunny’s tour continues, this display will surely be replicated in the concerts to come. Even if the warm-weather season is almost over, we can always count on Bad Bunny’s fandom to teach us how to dress for an eternal summer.
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