I met Puerto Rican musician Rauw Alejandro less than 24 hours after witnessing his first-ever live performance with his also very famous fiancée, Rosalía. The Internet-shattering spectacle happened on his Saturno World Tour (produced by Duars Live), in the first of two sold-out shows at San Juan’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium. The couple’s onstage chemistry wasn’t the tour’s first viral moment, however. Earlier this year, when Alejandro announced he’d be taking his ’90s-inspired, house-infused Saturno LP on the road, TikTok immediately exploded with a wave of users flexing the retrofuturist outfits they were planning to wear to their nearest show. Imagine a slew of metallic halter tops, psychedelic-print minidresses, and moto-inspired sunglasses taking over your feed.
“I started seeing all these TikToks of people like, ‘Outfit ideas for Rauw Alejandro concerts,’” the reggaetón heavyweight tells BAZAAR.com. Less than two months into touring, the hashtag #SaturnoOutfits has racked up 12 million views. “I was talking to my girl and she was sending videos to me like, ‘People are really doing the outfits for your shows.’ I was like, ‘Oh, hell no, this is going to be so fun.’”
When the Saturno album dropped in November, Alejandro was with Rosalía on her Motomami World Tour, where fans delivered impressively on-theme looks. It made him wonder whether the same enthusiasm could exist for his project. “I saw all these motomamis with the concept of Rosi, the leather jackets, crazy makeup, these girls who were going to kill the night,” he says. “When I did Saturno, I was like, ‘I don’t know if people are going to dress like an alien or an astronaut or these weird galactic outfits, but if they connect with it, maybe.’”
Alejandro describes his lifelong style evolution as “de cielo a tierra”—from sky to earth in the amount it’s changed. “At the beginning of my career, I wasn’t thinking too much about fashion,” he admits. But now, after years under the spotlight, he understands the importance of his image and how that connects to commercial success. “It happens to a lot of artists that they start and people know their songs, but they don’t know their faces. That was the time I realized, ‘Okay, I have to change the image so people recognize Rauw.’”
As we chat before his second show at Hiram Bithorn, Alejandro’s image projects ’90s nostalgia. His electric blue hair is braided into face-framing cornrows. A Game Boy Color is perched on his lap. His off-duty look—a cropped Miu Miu tee, black velvet pants, and lug-sole loafers—could have been plucked straight from a concertgoer. “People get into the mood and the experience,” he says.
Those outfits borrow from the aesthetic Alejandro imparted into Saturno’s music videos and tour visuals, which he says derive from “galactic, space-inspired” motifs of the ’90s. During his first show at Hiram Bithorn, I watched attendees of all ages, sizes, and genders turn out their best cybergoth impressions with head-to-toe metallics, grungy mesh accents, and eyewear in sporty, abstract shapes. Most pieces came in shades of silver, blue, black, and orange, the exact palette Alejandro used for his own tour looks created in collaboration with Acne Studios.
“It’s been amazing working with them,” he says of the brand, adding that their attention to detail has been a game changer. “They know I dance, so they made clothes that feel kind of elastic, so I can be more comfortable.”
Alejandro opened night one in Puerto Rico wearing a silver vest-and-pants set, accessorized with the 2000 edition of Oakley’s Overthetop Sunglasses. The look felt appropriate for his equally surreal stage entrance, made via zip line above the venue. “When I realized [Saturno] was going to be a ’90s vibe, galactic stuff, that helped me create the mood of the stage and the visuals,” he explains. “And that was all before the album came out.”
At Hiram Bithorn, Alejandro treated fans to a three-hour, career-spanning setlist, introducing special guests like Chencho Corleone and Arcángel along the way. His electronic-inspired sound distinguishes him from today’s other reggaetón stars, and it was enhanced by skillful choreography from dancers in raver-style getups (including a 10-minute interlude from supporting act, dance group the Jabbawockeez). For the dreamy “Lejos Del Cielo,” he was hoisted into the air in front of a UFO backdrop, getting in one last song before an alien abduction. He even revived his storied floor-grinding dance moves for 2021 hit “2/Catorce.” The second his pelvis hit the stage, the stadium roared.
His second (and final) outfit was less literal: a fishnet hoodie with a leather jacket and matching pants, whose chrome zipper spanned from front to back. Not only did the clothing offer mobility for the most intense choreography of the show, but when Rosalía appeared, Alejandro’s understated look let her shine. “This is a special night, because I’m going to sing with the love of my life for the first time onstage,” he said before accompanying the Spanish singer in two songs from their new joint EP, RR.
Alejandro won’t reveal any specific plans for the future, but he promises we’ll see him step outside his comfort zone. “I’m preparing new music, but for the concept, I have a few ideas,” he says. “You’ll definitely see a different Rauw far away from Saturn.”
In the meantime, he’ll tour on the Saturno World Tour until November with one goal: “I’m trying to make everything fun so people can have the best experience of their lives.”
As our conversation ends, I show Alejandro what I wore to last night’s concert: a peach-shaped bra from Melke, shimmery mesh midi skirt, and Jackson Pollock–style neon eye shadow. I smile at the sincerity of his knee-jerk response: “Oh, shit! You’re in the vibe! You’re really in the vibe.”
