“I don’t want to let my Halloween fans down because there are so many people who love creativity as much as I do and are jonesing to see what I do,” she told Page Six Style in 2019.
Following this year’s Heidi-hosted bash at The Venue on Music Row in New York, we’re taking a look back at the committed catwalker’s most iconic costumes from over the years — from “Shrek” ogress to old lady to preening peacock to wiggling worm — all ranked from mundane to magnificent. Getty Images
“I wanted to be Heidi, but a little bit more S&M,” the model told us of her first-ever Halloween party look, which featured a German dirndl with a punk twist. Spooky enough, but nothing compared to her over-the-top outfits to come. FilmMagic
The highlight of this Halloween look? The horse, of course — which Klum wasn’t sure how to ride. “[The NYPD] gave me one of the police horses and it was very nice. But I was still scared,” she said. Getty Images
Klum donned fake boobs and drawn-on brows to transform into the beloved cartoon character. Getty Images
This bloodthirsty look required some major DIY on Klum’s part. “I had help with the costume but didn’t have [pro] hair and makeup until 2011!” she told us, adding that she sewed together five wigs to create her character’s voluminous ‘do. Getty Images
While not especially creative by Klum’s standards, this look wins extra points for the commitment involved: “I had to go to one of those medical-supply stores and get a big, heavy fake skeleton that doctors and nurses use to study with, and carry it on my back all night long,” she told us. Getty Images
Paging Moira Rose! We’re sure the model ruffled a few feathers in this caw-some creation. “I had just given birth. I was like, ‘Black is slimming,'” Klum explained of her choice. Getty Images
Klum made for one fine feline in this slinky, glittery getup. Sometimes, you’ve just gotta go the “sexy animal” route! WireImage
When the COVID-19 pandemic put the kibosh on her annual costume bash, Klum pivoted and instead filmed a short horror movie at home to celebrate her favorite holiday. In the flick, the supermodel’s kids are transformed into zombies, so she hides by disguising herself as a wooden wall, marbleized bedsheets and more. You’ve got to applaud her for getting creative during a global crisis. Instagram
With the pandemic still raging, Klum once again canceled her Halloween rager in favor of making another spooky movie. This one picks up where the last left off, with the catwalker rising from the grave after being killed by her undead kids. Hat tips to horror classics like “Psycho,” “The Shining” and “The Exorcist” abound. Instagram
While this colorful costume was rather culturally insensitive, there’s no denying the artistry involved. Klum told us the eight-armed look was “tricky” to achieve: “You have this heavy backpack with eight arms you lug around all night.” FilmMagic
While nine months pregnant, Klum got extra creative. “I thought, ‘What can I be that is big and safe for the baby and comfortable for me?’ We had to get a convertible because I couldn’t fit through car doors,” she recalled of this Biblical look. Getty Images
Klum gilded every inch of herself for this costume, from her hair to her teeth to her décolletage. Getty Images
Talk about impressive wingspan! Klum told us “it was very hard to see” in this look. “I had these plastic round eyes and behind that, the batteries for the lights.” Dimitrios Kambouris
Klum took this glamorous look to the next level by covering her face in crystals. Mike Coppola
Klum doused herself in purple glitter and even wore red contacts to complete her costume. We’re still not sure how she managed to walk on those stilts. Getty Images
She flipped the script for this dramatic entrance, arriving with an army of blond lookalikes with identical measurements. Prosthetics were used to make the models’ faces match Klum’s — eerie! Mike Coppola
In the first of two looks she’d wear that year, Klum monkeyed around with then-husband Seal. She told us these looks were especially complicated to create: “An ape has so many spots, all these little freckles, and then [prosthetics artist Mike Marino] had to glue all these little hairs onto the prosthetics.” Getty Images
By far the most terrifying of Klum’s costumes, this gory, gruesome alien-slash-zombie getup might give you nightmares. FilmMagic
Just call her Heidi Plume! The supe transformed into a larger-than-life peacock with an assist from a flock of Cirque du Soleil performers, who formed her “feathers.”
“I need all my friends around me. I thought it would be fun to do a costume with a bunch of people … where we all make amazing formations,” she told Page Six Style on the red carpet.
It took Klum six hours to prep for the party — and her husband, Tom Kaulitz, even attended as a giant peacock egg. Getty Images for Heidi Klum
The star paid tribute to Michael Jackson with this killer outfit, even rehearsing for four days to get her dance moves just right. FilmMagic
It’s not easy being green — Klum piled on the prosthetics for this awesome outfit, even arriving at her party in an onion carriage. Tom Kaulitz, meanwhile, joined her dressed as the movie’s titular ogre. Getty Images for Heidi Klum
Inspired by the “Body Worlds” exhibition, Klum shed her skin for this creepy costume, even arriving on a gurney accompanied by a duo of doctors. FilmMagic
In perhaps her most elaborate prosthetic work to date, Heidi and Tom both transformed into different versions of E.T. from Steven Spielberg’s 1982 film, with the supermodel adding a wig, scarf and cap to her look. The couple’s faces were actually part of the character’s neck, with the enormous motorized head sitting on top of their own. She had a glowing finger and working mouth and eyelids, adding to the spectacular nature of the costume.
For the first time ever, the supermodel wore an adult diaper on the red carpet. Now that’s commitment! WireImage
A true testament to the magic of makeup, this elderly look rendered Klum unrecognizable. The model told us the costume — her personal favorite so far — “was sparked by people telling me, ‘Wow, you’re 40 now, how are you feeling with being old in [the modeling] industry?'” Mike Coppola
Klum outdid herself in every way with this cartoon creation come to life. “I was looking up who is the most well-known sex symbol — and it’s Jessica Rabbit,” said Klum. “I said, ‘Perfect.’ What man doesn’t want Jessica Rabbit? I wanted plus-plus everything: boots, butt, lips. Everyone was grabbing my boobs and butt because they knew they were fake.” WireImage
It took more than 10 hours to transform Klum into a giant worm — and she was quite the catch for Kaulitz, who dressed up as a fisherman who hooked her to his line.
At her party, Klum told reporters she considered the creepy-crawly costume one of her “top ones,” because “it’s so unusual and so big in size and it’s weird” — but admitted it wasn’t the most mobile getup.
“It’s hard for me to move. I don’t really have arms or legs,” she said. “When I fall over I need someone to help me get back up. I’m kind of stuck in it, you know? It feels a little claustrophobic.”
As creative as it was creepy, this stands as Klum’s most iconic Halloween look to date. Getty Images