Why Bad Bunny Chose Zara for the Super Bowl—and the Look That Almost Made the Halftime Show

In the final hours before the Super Bowl halftime show, Faraz Zaidi of FOUND believed his custom design for Bad Bunny was headed to the stage. The stylist had confirmed. A press release was written and queued for distribution. The garments, embroidered by hand by Pakistani artisans, had been completed under intense time pressure and shipped overnight to California.

After the show aired, Zaidi shared images of the unused look on Instagram, offering a candid look at the industry's volatility:

'But "almost" stories rarely ever matter. It only counts when you land it... somewhere within the last few days, the direction shifted and ultimately, Zara won the bid lol. They're fast.'

In fashion, proximity does not count. The artist either walks out in the clothes or he does not. The prepared press release framed the collaboration as a cultural marker: a Puerto Rican artist performing entirely in Spanish while wearing garments crafted by master artisans in Pakistan. It was intended to be a 'statement about the evolving definition of American identity and a shared language of craft... using fashion not as decoration, but as authorship.'

It did not materialise. Bad Bunny wore Zara.

Why Zara Made Sense

Zara is not an obscure choice. It is one of the most powerful retail brands in the world, headquartered in Spain and embedded in global shopping culture. Its presence stretches across major cities and regional shopping centres alike. It operates at a scale few fashion houses can match, with production systems built for speed and rapid distribution.

For a halftime performance broadcast to a massive international audience, that scale carries weight. Zara is immediately recognisable. Viewers do not need context to understand it. They know where to find it.

That accessibility is part of the point. A high-street brand on one of the largest entertainment platforms reframes what prestige dressing can look like in 2026. It places mass retail inside a space typically dominated by heritage luxury labels and custom ateliers.

Publications including The Guardian and The Cut highlighted the decision as notable precisely because it departed from expectation. A global pop star with access to any fashion house chose a Spanish retailer instead.

A Strategic Styling Decision

Storm Pablo, Bad Bunny's longtime stylist, has built a reputation on clarity of image. His work consistently balances statement dressing with cultural fluency. A halftime show demands clothing that reads instantly on camera, holds structure under performance conditions and photographs cleanly across angles.

Zara offers sharp silhouettes and contemporary tailoring without the distance that often accompanies couture. It is polished yet familiar. It marks a sharp pivot from the Schiaparelli look Bad Bunny wore — and won a history-making Album of the Year Grammy in — just the week prior. While that look was all about the 'untouchable' luxury of couture, with its measuring-tape lapels and surrealist structure, the Super Bowl required a different kind of power.

By moving from the exclusive height of Schiaparelli to the 'everyman' accessibility of Zara, he proves he can navigate the entire fashion spectrum in a single press tour. On a stage watched across languages and markets, that familiarity matters. The decision did not reject craft. It prioritised reach.

What the Near-Miss Reveals

The Faraz Zaidi (FOUND) story remains instructive. Independent designers can come within inches of a career-defining moment, complete the garments, prepare the rollout and still watch the opportunity pass. The 'slow, meticulous hand embroidery' mentioned by Zaidi underscores the level of work that was ready for the spotlight.

But the final call went to a brand with infrastructure, distribution power, and instant global recognition.

In wearing Zara, Bad Bunny aligned himself with a Spanish retailer that mirrors his own cross-market appeal. The choice bridged geography and audience without relying on luxury codes to signal importance.

The look that almost made it embodies ambition and craft. The look that did make it demonstrates strategy. And in the context of a global halftime performance, strategy is often what defines the headline.

Originally published on Fashiontimes UK