Bad Bunny ages himself with prosthetics

Bad Bunny arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4 looking decades older than his 32 years, with gray hair, wrinkles, facial prosthetics and a cane, turning one of the Met Gala’s most discussed looks into a makeup-driven transformation rather than a conventional red-carpet outfit. ABC News and Billboard reported that the Puerto Rican artist wore an all-black tuxedo designed in collaboration with Zara, while prosthetics artist Mike Marino handled the aging effect. On the carpet, Bad Bunny told Vogue host La La Anthony he wanted to do something different for the event and joked that the transformation took “53 years.” ### Why did Bad Bunny look decades older at the Met Gala? The 2026 Met Gala was tied to the Costume Institute exhibition “Costume Art,” and coverage from Vogue cited by ABC News said Bad Bunny’s look was in conversation with “The Aging Body,” one of the body concepts explored by the show. ABC News, citing the exhibition catalog, said the show addressed how the fashion industry has often sidelined older bodies. (abcnews.com) Bad Bunny framed the look as creative experimentation rather than a simple disguise. “I always try to do something different,” he told Vogue on the carpet, according to ABC News, adding that the Met Gala was a place to “explore and be creative and express yourself in a different way.” (abcnews.com) ### Who made the prosthetics? Mike Marino, the prosthetics designer behind work on film and television projects including “The Batman,” was identified by ABC News, Interview Magazine and Türkiye Today as the artist who created Bad Bunny’s aged face. Interview Magazine reported Marino said Bad Bunny’s team approached him with a rough design before the gala. (abcnews.com) Interview Magazine quoted Marino saying the concept arrived with his name already attached to it. Marino said the team reached out with what he described as a rough design and that he agreed to make it happen while also preparing Heidi Klum’s separate Met Gala prosthetic look. (abcnews.com) ### How was the transformation built? Türkiye Today reported, citing Marino’s comments to Allure, that the preparation lasted about six weeks and used laser scans, 3D printing, clay sculpting and hand-built facial detailing. The report said Marino’s team created silicone pieces for the neck, cheeks, under-eye area, forehead, ears and hands, then finished the effect with gray hair, eyebrows, beard and mustache attached to lace pieces. (interviewmagazine.com) Billboard published behind-the-scenes photos on May 5 showing sculpted pieces, a mannequin and Bad Bunny in the chair with a team of makeup artists. The outlet said the tuxedo was custom made from a design Bad Bunny developed with Zara and included an oversized bow referencing Charles James’ 1947 “Bustle,” plus a 1995 Cartier watch. (turkiyetoday.com) ### What did Bad Bunny actually say about it? Bad Bunny told La La Anthony on the Vogue livestream that the Met Gala was the right place to push his image in a different direction, according to ABC News and Billboard. When Anthony asked how long it took to get ready, he answered with the line that became the night’s most repeated quote: “Fifty-three years.” (billboard.com) Türkiye Today reported the joke in similar terms, saying he described the process as taking “Exactly 53 years” while posing with the cane on the carpet. The line matched the visual premise of the look: an older version of Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio presented as a fully realized character, not just a wrinkle effect. (abcnews.com) ### Where can readers see the look and what comes next? ABC News, Billboard and Türkiye Today all published photos of the look from the May 4 gala, including carpet images and, in Billboard’s case, preparation shots from the build process. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition page says “Costume Art” is the 2026 Costume Institute show tied to this year’s gala. (turkiyetoday.com) Billboard reported that Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour” is scheduled to resume on May 22 in Barcelona and run through July 22 in Brussels. That gives the Met Gala look a clear afterlife: the photos remain online, and Bad Bunny returns to the road later this month. (billboard.com) (abcnews.com)