Klum hit the red carpet at her own party in New York on Thursday night in an elaborate E.T. costume, in which her face could be seen forming part of the neck of Steven Spielberg’s beloved character from the cult 1982 film.
The whole spectacle had real wow factor, even by Klum’s standards. That is, if US actress Janelle Monae hadn’t unveiled her own E.T. outfit to much fanfare the day prior.
Monae, 38, shared a series of photos of her as E.T. before also sporting the look for a guest appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, where she said the outfit had been two years in the making.
Minutes after Klum’s look was shared on social media, dozens of fans pointed out how “Janelle Monae did it first.”
“Oh man, how angry was Heidi Klum when Janelle Monae beat her by a day…” one person wrote.
“Heidi Klum and Janelle Monae need to co-ordinate next Halloween at this point,” said another.
Still, Klum had plenty of supporters, with multiple people declaring the look “iconic.”
Klum has thrown her now-famous bashes since 2000, missing only two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Partially teasing her look in an Instagram Live with Amazon earlier, Klum could be seen undergoing a transformation as a makeup team applied flesh-coloured prosthetics to her face.
One post to her Instagram Story heralded today’s costume her “least comfortable” yet – and that’s saying something for a woman who, a few years back, slithered down the red carpet on Halloween as a giant worm.
While the early preview didn’t entirely give away her overall look, early guesses predicted it could be E.T, a Ninja turtle or The Thing (Benjamin Jacob “Ben” Grimm) from Fantastic Four.
Among celebrities, Halloween in the US presents an other-worldly style parade each year as A-listers hit up an array of parties, but it’s Klum’s costumes, and her dedication to completely transforming her appearance, that has made her the most talked about star come spooky season.
Last year, Klum rocked an over-the-top peacock outfit, which she said took six hours to slip into.
Perhaps her most outrageous outfit to date came in 2022, when Klum hit the red carpet in her giant worm costume, which left her virtually immobile with only her nose, mouth and eyes visible.
Klum’s husband of six years, Tom Kaulitz, was by her side dressed in a bloodied farmer costume.
Another highlight came in 2015, when Klum was expertly moulded into the appearance of Jessica Rabbit.
Klum told USA Today the idea to throw her own epic parties came when, more than two decades ago, she was stuck looking for something fun to do on Halloween.
“I can’t believe this, this is Manhattan … no one is doing like a really cool party?,” she recalled thinking.
As for her costumes, Klum said she has much more “fun” when vanity is out of the picture.
“People want to be cool … But I feel like the cool factor then goes and everyone has more fun when you’re dressed up. It’s a great shield to have,” she said.
Halloween parties have been taking place in Los Angeles over the past week, with Billie Eilish hosting a star-studded bash on Saturday night.
Khloe Kardashian also threw her yearly “cousin’s pumpkin party” at her mansion in California, which was attended by members of the Kardashian family.
