I can’t lie — I’m not the biggest fan of Halloween. Every year, I feel more stressed than excited about the holiday. Having to be creative while also worrying about what is or isn’t cool is too much for my brain to handle. However, celebrity Halloween costumes help inspire my creativity.
Every Halloween, my Instagram feed is flooded with pictures of celebrities arriving at exclusive parties in the most creative, well–executed costumes I’ve ever seen. Their over–the–top, detail–oriented costumes set the bar for our costume aspirations, and they’re a level of iconic I’ll always fall short of.
Here are some of the most popular, memorable celebrity Halloween costumes from recent years — according to both my opinion and popular culture.
Harry Styles as Elton John
It seems like anything Harry Styles does deserves praise, and this costume was no exception. After all, who doesn’t love Harry Styles? Better yet, who doesn’t love Harry Styles dressed as Elton John?
For Halloween 2018, Styles wore large pink rhinestone glasses and a sparkly baseball outfit to mimic the older, similarly iconic singer. One celebrity honoring another with their costume is an automatic crowd favorite!
Kylie Jenner as Christina Aguilera
The Kardashian–Jenner crew has accrued a boatload of infamous Halloween costumes over the years. One particular costume I remember vividly is Kylie Jenner dressed as Christina Aguilera from Aguilera’s music video, “Dirrty.”
Jenner’s outfit was all over my Instagram feed in 2016, and it was impressive how accurately she recreated the look — with long blond hair, a specific remake of the outfit from the music video, and even blue contacts. The commitment to minuscule details really elevates celebrity costumes, explaining exactly how Jenner impressed with this look.
Katy Perry as a Cheeto
Though I would never dress as a Cheeto, I think Katy Perry’s wholehearted embrace of this costume in 2014 was iconic, as proven by how it trended on social media. It seems like a perfect costume for Perry, who’s known for her over–the–top style during even ordinary occasions. Leave it to her to take the most random item and make it a memorable look.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel as Trolls characters
Justin Timberlake, his wife Jessica Biel, and their son Silas wore matching family costumes of characters from the animated movie Trolls in 2020. Timberlake both starred in and wrote a hit song for the film. The commitment to this adorable family costume was top–notch. The outfits had giant troll feet, noses, ears, and wigs, and they totally resembled animated characters. Because this look was family–oriented and featured Timberlake and Biel’s adorable son, it soon became popular in the public eye.
Heidi Klum as Fiona
I’m not sure there exists greater dedication to a costume than this: in 2018, Heidi Klum dressed as Princess Fiona from the hit animated movie Shrek, while her boyfriend at the time was dressed as Shrek himself. Klum was completely unrecognizable, looking exactly like the animated character had come to life. Her entire body was painted green, her features were exaggerated like an ogre’s, and her dress was identical to Fiona’s costume in the film. Of every elaborate outfit on my list, Klum’s costume takes the cake for the most impressive.
Though I don’t love Halloween, I love seeing other people commit to and execute the most creative costumes they can think of. Often, celebrities are the ones who embody the best, most elaborate costumes. Though I may try, I’ll never live up to their Halloween expertise. At the end of the day, however, at least I can enjoy their iconic looks.