Bad Bunny to Wear Mugler at Coachella Tonight: Stylist Storm Pablo on Dressing the Music Star
Bad Bunny wore ERL a week ago when he headlined Coachella. On Friday night, he’ll be in Mugler for weekend two of the music festival. Storm Pablo, his stylist of four years, is behind the looks.
There are about 100 in total — 50 from each designer, working with ERL creator Eli Russell Linnetz and Mugler creative director Casey Cadwallader. Bad Bunny wears four, with the rest outfitting his band and dancers.
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“We wanted this one to be 10 times bigger, because I felt like, just him as an artist now, he’s gotten 10 times bigger,” Pablo said of the 29-year-old music star, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. He was referencing the last time the Puerto Rican singer and rapper performed in the desert, which was in 2019.
“It was just something that we knew, that on stage, it was gonna look amazing,” he went on, describing the first look, the highly photographed ERL puffer.
It was a statement ensemble, which was followed by a denim look as part of an upcoming ERL and Levi’s collaboration. Ocasio was originally going to sport a silver outfit made of sequins. Improvising, the music artist threw on jean shorts instead and an ERL blanket over his shoulders.
“Last minute, he just wanted to be in something a little bit more casual, which is very him,” said Pablo. “I think that when it comes to his style, he’s very much about being comfortable. That was something that was way more fitting for him.”
It was Thursday, the eve of the final night. Pablo, or La Tormenta as he’s known in the Latin world, was in his work space in Los Angeles. He’s been living here for six years.
Born in Guam as Manuel San Agustín Pablo III, he came to the U.S. at age 11. His father was in the military, he explained, and he moved around the country as a kid before landing in L.A.
“Styling kind of found me,” said the 31-year-old. “I mean, I’ve always had a love for fashion. I grew up working in retail stores. So did my mother. I remember I used to go to retail stores with her. She had me at a really young age, so she would take me to work with her.”
It’s his mom who first called him Pablo, and it stuck.
“As far as fashion, it’s always been a part of my life,” he continued. “Styling, on the other hand, that’s something that kind of found me, and I feel like I’m still learning every single day. Working with Bad Bunny, I’m learning at a pretty rapid pace.”
The two connected when Pablo was interning in a showroom.
“My job was to schedule stylists,” he said.
It’s how he discovered styling in the first place and what the work entailed.
“I tried my hand at it, and a year later into trying, I was working with Bad Bunny,” he said. “And it’s been trial and error ever since then.”
A close friend of his — who’s a partner at his fashion label Contra — was doing graphic design for Ocasio and introduced them. Storm would gift the rapper looks from the showroom as part of his job, and they formed a relationship.
“One day while I’m just typing away at my desk job, I get a call and they asked me to style Bad Bunny for the VMAs,” he said.
It’s been a whirlwind since. He recently got off tour traveling with Ocasio’s team, and next, he’s preparing for the Met Gala on May 1.
“Learning about him and his culture and watching what he does for the Latino culture has been such a cool experience,” Pablo said of their collaboration. “He’s just such an artist in every single way. He’s one of the first artists that I’ve ever worked with that has to be hands-on with literally every single thing that’s going on. And I really do appreciate that about him as an artist, because one, I mean, it makes my job easier. And number two, you know, he’ll add ideas to my ideas, and he’ll make them even bigger and better than I could imagine.”
And yet, communication is sometimes through a translator — Pablo’s assistant, who’s fluent in Spanish. It’s been easier these days, though; Pablo has been taking lessons, and Ocasio’s English has improved through the years.
“That’s actually very interesting,” he said, when asked about the language barrier. “In the beginning, he didn’t speak really any English at all, and I spoke even less Spanish. So, in the beginning, it was really, really difficult. But one thing that we had in common is that we both had a love for fashion. And you know, I felt like we’ve had a similar taste level. That kind of goes farther than language.”
Turning to ERL for Coachella was a no-brainer for them both, he said: “Eli being from Venice Beach, that was just the first person that came to mind. The whole team, casually, I feel like we all wear ERL all the time.”
Mugler, meanwhile, represents the start of a new phase in his career. He’s focused on collaborating on custom designer looks.
“I feel like that’s something new that I’m trying to do,” he explained. “It’s getting so boring just going into stores and buying clothes. I really want to start working with more brands that typically do womenswear and transition — when it comes to these big performances, I want them to transition to making men’s clothing for Benito. This is the first of many.”
While ERL was colorful, the Mugler pieces are black.
“The outfit is going to be a whole other vibe,” he said of Friday night’s opening look. “To end the last weekend of Coachella, we’re also ending out a phase of the era from the last album, ‘Un Verano Sin Ti.’ I feel like we’re going on to new things. At least to me, this is the end of that era, and we’re going into something new.”
With a laugh, he added, “And so, the all-black look, this is kind of like the funeral to me.”
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