Bad Bunny’s Gender-Fluid Looks: Trend or Timeless?
How the Puerto Rican superstar bends fashion norms, challenges machismo, and makes gender expression part of the mainstream.
Courtesy of Getty Images for dcp via Variety
Bad Bunny isn’t the first global music star to wear a skirt. He isn’t the only man to walk in pearls or paint his nails in glossy pinks. But when a Puerto Rican reggaetón icon, built from the sounds of perreo and steeped in the bravado of Latinx masculinity, steps into traditionally “feminine” clothing, it doesn’t just make a fashion statement. It cracks something open.
This genre popularized chest-thumping machismo, which once measured manhood in dominance, desire, and denim. Bad Bunny, the most-streamed artist in the world, has not only redefined the sound of reggaetón but also remixed its entire visual identity.
So the question isn’t whether Benito’s looks are eye-catching. They are. It’s whether this is a passing phase or part of something bigger. Is it a moment? Or a movement?
From Crop Tops to Cannes: Key Fashion Moments That Sparked the Conversation
Bad Bunny’s style evolution isn’t subtle. It’s cinematic. The “Yo Perreo Sola” music video in 2020, where he appeared in full drag wig, dress, thigh-high boots, to spotlight gender-based violence and autonomy in nightlife spaces. There was his 2021 Allure cover, where he wore a pastel coat, dainty gold jewelry, and painted nails, serving soft masculinity with editorial precision.
Then came Met Gala 2023. He walked the carpet in a pure white Jacquemus, backless ensemble with a dramatic train and a delicate pearl choker. It wasn’t a costume. It wasn’t camp. It was elegance, recontextualized through a lens rarely granted to Latin male artists.
We’ve seen him in crop tops, pleated skirts, leather corsets, pink puffer coats, and experimental tailoring that blends femme with futuristic. He’s been styled by top fashion houses, photographed for glossy covers, and honored for his sound and style. But beneath all of it is something more than aesthetic: intentionality.
Bad Bunny’s ‘Yo Perreo Sola’ look. Courtesy of Courtesy Photo via Billboard
Bad Bunny in Raf Simons. Courtesy of Camila Falquez via Allure
Bd Bunny in a custom Jacquemus for Met Gala 2023
Rewriting Rules in a Machismo Culture
To understand the impact of Bad Bunny’s fashion, you have to understand what he’s standing against. Latinx culture, especially in music genres like reggaetón and Latin trap, has long upheld rigid ideas about masculinity. From lyrics to looks, men are expected to perform strength, sexual dominance, and a kind of hard-edged stoicism. If expressive, fashion stays safely masculine: big sneakers, oversized shirts, designer belts, and gold chains.
Bad Bunny grew up in that world. But rather than reject his culture, he chose to expand it. His choices, whether wearing a skirt, painting his nails, or donning a dainty scarf, carry weight because they push against deeply held cultural expectations. These aren’t empty gestures or stylists playing dress-up. They’re personal and political.
He’s vocal about supporting LGBTQ+ rights, gender equality, and challenging violence against women. His fashion is part of that message: a visual rebellion wrapped in silk and rhinestones. He’s not just pushing boundaries; he’s dismantling them.
Trend Forecast or Timeless Rebellion?
We’ve seen male celebrities play with gender-fluid fashion before: Harry Styles in a Gucci gown, Lil Nas X in beaded Versace, and Jaden Smith in a Louis Vuitton skirt. The fashion industry has responded in many ways by embracing genderless collections, more unisex marketing, and silhouettes that blur traditional binaries. But there’s always a question behind the sparkle: Is this real change or a marketing opportunity?
Bad Bunny doesn’t dress for shock. He dresses with consistency. His gender-fluid looks don’t show up only at award shows or during Pride month. They’re part of his everyday image on stage, in interviews, and even on Instagram. There’s a rhythm to his style that suggests this isn’t about tapping into a trend. It’s about being.
He doesn’t talk about labels. He talks about freedom, the freedom to dress how he wants, move how he wants, and love how he wants. That, more than anything, signals longevity. This isn’t a phase. It’s a philosophy.
Courtesy of Getty Images via Vogue
Representation in Real Time
For millions of young people, especially queer Latinx fans, seeing Bad Bunny in heels or eyeliner isn’t just cool. It’s validating. In communities where traditional masculinity is deeply enforced, seeing someone like Benito be soft, fluid, and expressive can be revolutionary.
He is not an outsider critiquing Latinx culture. He is one of its biggest exports, most visible faces, and loudest voices. That visibility carries power. It helps normalize a broader spectrum of masculinity, where self-expression isn’t punished but celebrated.
His fans don’t just copy his looks; they take his permission to be bolder, softer, and themselves. In a world that often gatekeeps style, identity, and gender, Bad Bunny is kicking the doors open in designer boots.
A Look That Lasts?
So, is Bad Bunny’s gender-fluid fashion a trend or timeless? Maybe it doesn’t need to be one or the other. Perhaps it’s both a trend that’s helping redefine timelessness. His style choices are already influencing a generation, pushing designers to think differently and fans to feel differently about what men can wear, want, and should be allowed to wear.
What matters more than the hemline or nail color is the freedom behind it; the refusal to shrink, conform, or apologize.
In an industry often obsessed with novelty, Bad Bunny’s fashion legacy may be his refusal to treat gender expression as a costume. It’s not a gimmick. He’s been making this statement quietly, consistently, and without the need for explanation.
Bad Bunny made it clear whether this moment lasts: masculinity has more room to breathe and dress.
A closer look at the cultural shift happening beneath the glitter, and the artist dressing it into existence.