THE REGGAETON REVOLUTION by Marian Rowley

Fashion’s biggest brands are singing the praises of the Spanish-language music genre’s top stars.

by Marian Rowley

Fashion has always been essential to reggaeton, but reggaeton has not always been essential to the fashion industry — until now.

Born in Panama in the 1970s, reggaeton is a Spanish-language music genre brought to life by blending Jamaican dancehall style with reggae and hip-hop. But reggaeton isn’t just about danceable beats; it’s also about fashion. It’s long been common for its artists to namecheck brands like Nike, Versace, Gucci and Dior both in lyrics and song titles.

But the genre’s love affair with fashion was once one-sided. Fashion brands simply didn’t have reggaeton on their radar. Indeed, in a 2018 Business of Fashion article about the growing connection between the genre and fashion brands, reggaeton celebrity stylist Irma Martinez recalls how difficult it once was to find a fashion brand even willing to dress reggaeton artists, much less partner with them on a campaign or a collaboration.

That all changed in 2017, when Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi teamed up with pop musician Justin Bieber to remix his song, “Despacito.” The catchy tune became the year’s most-streamed song, the mostviewed YouTube video of all time and one of Billboard’s biggest hits of all time.

“Everything changed with Despacito,” confirms Diana Abad, business development manager at Roots Latam, a marketing agency in Panama that works with reggaeton artists. Fonsi’s success, she says, sent reggaeton into the musical mainstream. Since then, reggaeton has become synonymous with popular culture. “Latino music and culture is pop culture right now,” says AJ Ramos, Latin artist relations manager at YouTube in New York City. Accordingly, fashion brands figured out the potential of partnering with its brightest stars — stars who remained as fashion-obsessed as ever.

For example, Bad Bunny’s 2020 song “Yo Visto Así” (I dress like this) is a veritable ode to his personal style. Karol G sings about her new Nike Air Jordans in her hit 2021 song, “El Makinon,” and Myke Towers’ “Burberry” topped the charts in 2021, as did Jhay Cortez’s song, “Christian Dior.” Then there’s Maluma, the stage name of the Colombian singer known for his suave style. He wears so much Versace that Donatella herself called him a “Versace King” in a recent New York Times profile of the singer. Not only did Versace design Maluma’s red leather look for the 2021 Met Gala, but Donatella was also his date to the exclusive event.

Of course, fashion brands are seeking more than just a cultural connection with pop culture’s favorite fashionistas. Partnering with reggaeton artists makes sense because of the influence these artists hold over fashion spending across the growing Hispanic and Latino market and also because of the value of their social media influence across this important market sector. And just who makes up the Hispanic and Latino market? In the U.S. alone, Hispanic Americans will account for over 20% of the population by

“These artists have the ability to sell just about any product they put their name on to their legions of fans. “

2025 and nearly 24% of all Millennials (born 1980 to 1994), according to a 2021 study of the Hispanic-American market from marketing and research firm Claritas. The study also found that fashion spending among this growing population is significant: about onethird of projected revenue growth in the apparel sector will come from Hispanic households.

That’s where reggaeton comes in. Abad believes these artists have the ability to sell just about any product they put their name on to their legions of fans.

“Latino artists have been doing an amazing job at creating communities with their fans,” she says. Their fans, Abad adds, “want to identify as part of certain group, they are going to buy anything that makes them feel like they belong.”

Macy’s seems to agree. On March 24, the New York City-based company launched a ready-to-wear collection called Royalty by Maluma. The line isn’t Maluma’s first foray into fashion — in 2021, he collaborated with luxury French fashion brand Balmain and its creative director, Olivier Rousteing, on a capsule collection inspired by the neon colors of Miami. Rousteing called it the brand’s highest-selling online collection, according to the New York Times profile.

Nike, too, has found success with a reggaeton partnership. In 2020, colorobsessed Colombian artist J Balvin created a tie-dye version of Air Jordan 1s. Dropped during his Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show performance, the sneakers sold out the same day, according to Billboard.com. But reggaeton artists don’t just deliver on sales, they also provide fashion brands with a branding bonus: social media influence. Latinos and Hispanics are considered the most engaged of all minority markets on social media, according to a study by Nielsen Holdings on the rise of Latinx influencers. On Instagram, reggaeton artists are confirmed influencers: J Balvin boasts a follower count over 50 million, and Maluma’s exceeds 60 million.

When Bad Bunny used his Instagram account in early March 2021 to hype his upcoming sneaker collab with athleticwear giant Adidas, his legions of fans were ready. When the sneaker dropped days later, it sold out within minutes, according to People En Español.

French luxury brand Jacquemus also hopped on the Bad Bunny social media bandwagon. Bad Bunny’s fan base was a “critical asset” for Jacquemus when it came to marketing its February collection “Le Splash,” according to a FashionNetwork.com story on the brand’s social media marketing strategy surrounding the partnership. Images of Bad Bunny posted on Jaquemus’s Instagram account on Feb. 7 garnered more than 600,000 likes in just 24 hours, a result that, according to the article, contributed to the brand’s ability to increase its desirability among consumers.

The success of this these collabs and others doesn’t surprise Ramos. They simply reflect the power of reggaeton artists in the fashion world. “We are at the point,” he says, “that these brands have no other choice but to collaborate.”

REVOLUTION

Marian Rowley is a junior majoring in marketing and fashion media.