Moo Deng
Thailand’s most famous pygmy hippo took social media by storm last month, inspiring countless memes and even a Saturday Night Live skit. Create your own hippo costume, or – for the less creative among us – buy a hippo onesie, and your transformation into Moo Deng will be complete. Next, throw a few adorable tantrums, bite someone’s knee, or relish in whatever water you can find, and you’ll have successfully embodied the two-month-old mammalian it-girl.
Chappell Roan
Speaking of it-girls, this 26-year-old singer has turned many heads, either because of her rise to fame a year after the release of her 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, or because of her recent rejection of “creepy” fan behaviour.
Whether you like her synth-pop or not, her colourful drag is sure to inspire various costumes this Halloween, particularly her Pink Pony Club, Statue of Liberty and album cover looks.
Chappell Roan has emerged from relative obscurity to become one of the world’s most exciting pop stars.Credit: Ryan Clemens
Raygun
After the notorious breakdancing performance at this year’s Paris Olympics by Raygun (aka Rachael Gunn), don’t be surprised to see a lot of green and gold tracksuits and amateur kangaroo-style dance-battles this Halloween.
Dale Pruser, owner of Creative Costumes in Melbourne, says she quickly sold out of Raygun costumes.“I’ve had to order more, they’re just so popular,” Pruser says. “Pop culture drives everything now. And it’s so accessible – you can Google anything or go on TikTok and learn how to look exactly like them … The younger generations are particularly pop culture-driven.”
Brat
It’s hard to resist the laissez-faire, party girl look nailed by pop star Charli XCX after the release of her Brat album in June, and her recent announcement that she will headline six shows for Laneway Festival early next year. Keep “Brat Summer” alive in any Shrek-green clothing, some Y2K rave glasses and a seriously tousled hairdo. It’s less about the look and more about the “who cares” attitude.
For those planning to dive even deeper down the pop culture rabbit hole, try dressing as “Brat Kamala Harris” (hint: lime green power suit).
Charli XCX’s Brat album has made slime green hotter than ever before.
Hawk Tuah girl
Hailey Welch forever changed vox pops after telling YouTubers Tim Dickerson and DeArius Marlow that you “gotta give him that ‘hawk tuah’ and spit on that thang” earlier this year. As long as you can do the “sound”, you don’t need much else. Or wear some of the official merch Welch inspired, including trucker hats, jumpsuits and t-shirts.
Jen and Ben
Forget Taylor and Travis, in favour of Bennifer (aka Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck) who have kept us on our toes with their on-again-off-again relationship since 2002. Lopez filed for divorce in August, but this hasn’t stopped fans speculating whether the pair will again rekindle their relationship.
