“We knew it was for Bad Bunny. We kept it a secret.” How a jersey travelled from Santo Tirso to California

If there was one detail of the Super Bowl show that caught everyone’s attention, it was the jersey embroidered with the number 64 and the name Ocasio worn by Bad Bunny. It wasn’t even daytime in Portugal yet, and everyone already knew it was from Zara. What only became known on Monday evening was that it all started in São Salvador do Campo, Santo Tirso (Porto), at the Sidi factory, a Portuguese company that works regularly with Inditex. “We’ve had high-profile items before, but none like this”, Diana Costa told ECO.

The Sidi Group, owned by Pedro Oliveira and Diana Costa, received the order from Zara in the last days of January and, “in secret” and “in four days”, made the sample, obtained approval and produced a thousand sweaters that were shipped on 2 February. “I knew it was for Bad Bunny, I didn’t know what event he was going to wear it at”, she says.

On Monday morning, she recognised it “immediately”. And it was a source of pride: “When we woke up and saw the concert posts, with all the hype around it, we were amazed. Not only because of the show, but because we managed to keep it secret from start to finish.”

After obtaining authorisation from Zara, the legitimate owners of the garment, Sidi shared the information on social media: “The jersey worn by Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl – proudly produced by Sidi.”

The sweater was tailor-made for the Puerto Rican artist, with a thousand pieces produced – a small batch when compared to Inditex’s usual orders of 20, 30, or 50 thousand units – a detail that caught the attention of those working at Sidi. They received the order, but everything else is done “in-house”.

“Zara presents the desired model, we do the development. We send a sketch of the model, with the type of knit, and apply the embroidery or patches. Then Zara gave the final ‘ok’. Only then did we produce the requested quantity”, explains Diana Costa.

In this case, the garment is American-style fleece, 100% organic cotton, with GOTS certification (mandatory for those who work with organic cotton). The patch is made – the number 64, the surname Ocasio, the jersey stripes – and then placed on the jersey.

“We strictly comply with what the customer has requested”, says Diana Costa. The relationship between the companies is long-standing. The Sidi group was founded in 2005, produces knitwear and has been working with Zara for over a decade, mainly manufacturing T-shirts and sweatshirts. It comprises three companies, its own production line, a clothing factory and 40 employees. Of the €12 million in annual turnover, Inditex accounts for 30% (€3.6 million). “We know the customer well and we meet their demands. Experience helps us get it right”, she emphasises.

It has been a hectic few days, with lots of phone calls, since they revealed their participation in this event, which has already been viewed almost 60 million times on YouTube alone. “We’ve been asked if there are any shirts available”, reveals Diana Costa. And the answer is a clear no. Zara, which owns the garment, has already said that it does not intend to sell it, and Sidi will not do so either, “for contractual reasons”.

“Not even my son and daughter, who work at Sidi, dared to ask, because the principle is that the company always comes first. The Inditex department that worked with us knows it can trust us, and that counts for a lot”, she points out.

Shirts are already on sale on second-hand websites

The singer thanked the Zara employees. “Thank you for the time, talent and heart you put into this. Thank you for making it real. This show is yours too. I hope you enjoy it. See you soon! Benito.”

Zara emphasised in a statement that the collaboration with Bad Bunny had the sole purpose of “helping to make Benito’s artistic vision complete”. The brand added that it also dressed the dancers, band and orchestra for the show, stressing that the wardrobe “was never intended to be commercialised”.

Only Inditex employees involved in the project received a sweater similar to Bad Bunny’s. Hours later, according to Bloomberg, they began to appear on resale platforms such as Vinted and eBay. The asking prices can reach up to €30,000.

The company declined to comment on the resale of these items, which, according to Diana Costa, are not exactly the same as those produced with patches at Sidi. “The Inditex ones are printed, which is different from ours. Ours have a patch applied. That version was not made by us”, she explains, pointing out that she does not know what will happen to the other 999 that were shipped to Inditex.