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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Olivia Hebert

Heidi Klum reveals her 2024 Halloween costume – and it’s out of this world

Heidi Klum goes extraterrestrial with her 2024 Halloween costume.

This year, Heidi Klum took her legendary Halloween game to a new galaxy, transforming into none other than E.T. for her annual bash at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York City. Channeling the iconic alien from Spielberg’s 1982 classic, her costume was complete with a glowing fingertip and a motorized headpiece—equipped with a mouth and eyes that her team could operate remotely. Klum was joined by her husband, German musician Tom Kaulitz, who also suited up as E.T. for the event.

Both suits, crafted with 3-D printing, featured a zippered seam running from the crown of the head to the middle of the spine, costume designer Mike Marino explained to the New York Times.

To top it off, the red carpet was built several feet above ground level so that when Klum stood behind it, her knobby, extraterrestrial feet appeared to be right on the floor, bringing the beloved alien to life in true Hollywood style.

“Maybe I never need to use the diaper, but at least that way I don’t have to think about it,” Ms. Klum joked to the New York Times.

A few weeks after last year’s Halloween, Klum came up with the idea, inspired by her childhood love of the movie. She also liked the gender-neutral aspect of the film’s alien character.

“They have no genitals,” Ms. Klum noted. “I like the whole idea of, like, we’re all the same.”

On Wednesday afternoon, one of Heidi Klum’s final fittings unfolded in a suite at the Hard Rock Hotel in Midtown. Her team bustled around, assembling the intricate details. A woman with a rainbow mohawk held a flap of lifelike skin, crafted to look rough and wrinkled but soft to the touch—it would soon transform Klum’s face into E.T.’s.

(Getty Images for Heidi Klum Hall)

“This is very high-tech,” Ms. Klum joked.

For reference, movie stills from E.T. hung next to bottles of baby powder and K-Y jelly, essentials in the costume process. Meanwhile, costume designer Mike Marino and his team worked meticulously to secure Klum’s robotic headpiece, gluing it in place and using blow dryers to set it faster, one final step in bringing the legendary alien to life.

After Klum wiggled into her suit, her team zipped her up and went all in, layering strips of fake skin, dabbing on glue, and airbrushing every seam until the transformation was seamless. By the end, Klum didn’t just wear the costume—she became the iconic extraterrestrial.

Ever since the year 2000, the Making The Cut co-host has thrown an annual Halloween bash and never shows up in a look that’s anything less than extraordinary.

Last year, the supermodel donned a giant peacock costume with a little help from 10 performers from the iconic circus troupe, Cirque du Soleil. The acrobats were the ones who brought her elaborate wings to life. Klum’s husband Tom Kaulitz was also in costume, with the 34 year old opting for a gigantic white peacock egg to match the theme.

For 2023, the supermodel turned heads she showed up at her annual festivities donning a worm costume. The eerily realistic costume was part of a couple’s costume with husband Tom Kaulitz, who was dressed as a fisherman – although the model said the costume was “claustrophobic.”

Meanwhile, in 2019, she dressed up as an alien, while the year before she dressed up head-to-toe in green make-up and prosthetics as Princess Fiona from Shrek. Then in 2017, she dressed up as one of the werewolves from Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” music video, clad in faux fur and a letterman jacket. The year before, she impressively showed up with an army of clones, who donned prosthetics to look like Klum.

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