The iconic intimidating the iconic: Standout celebrity Halloween costumes

The Croft Magazine// By Beatrice Fitzmaurice, Third Year, English Literature

Beatrice Fitzmaurice explores the creative and comical celebrity Halloween costumes in recent years and their inspiration from iconic movies, fictional characters and famous figures in pop culture.

The first iconic celebrity Halloween looks that struck when beginning to write this was Gigi Hadid’s replication of Sandy’s racy look in the hit 1978 film Grease in 2015, and Kylie Jenner as Christina Aguilera in her look for the 2002 Dirrty music video. On further research I couldn’t help but notice the sway away from conventional ghoulie Halloween costumes to imitations of other distinguished characters or even other celebrities. Perhaps to have the most iconic look is just to embody the iconic.

Top model Anok Yai also created a striking look by taking inspiration from another element controlling comic character, X-men’s Storm in 2019.

From celeb to comic book villain, there’s no denying that the key is to take on the characters of fierce females in exact detail. Yet is the character of Poison Ivy the iconic one or is it Uma herself as Emily Ratajkowski’s take on Mia Wallace, Thurman’s character in the cult classic 1994 film Pulp Fiction, that her 2014 Halloween look implies.

Niche yet suave- a great last minute, student budget friendly idea… Got white shirt and black trousers? Perfect! All you need is the distinctive black bob and you’re on your way, no shoes required…

Even the guys are inspired by taking on personas of other iconic kings as Harry Styles rocked an iconic Elton John look in 2018, even prior to the release of the popular musical film Rocketman in 2019.

Let’s not forget Kevin Hart’s hilarious impersonation of his co-star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s classic 90s turtleneck and chain look, rocking the bumbag… angles clearly accentuate height.

While the history of Halloween may have been to ward off the ghosts, ghouls and demons of all-hallows eve, the past decade has taken it as an opportunity to take on a different identifiable persona. Though seeing your own doppelganger might be the freaky element to it.

Heidi Klum’s annual Halloween bash always sees many outrageous costumes and in 2016 she took it to the extent of arriving as herself with five other clones. With the convention of selfies on social media (particularly for these celebs), seeing a spitting image of yourself may not be as freaky. Although Klum’s narcissistic yet ingenious take on this Halloween costume reminds us of the numerous horror films that reuse the chilling spectre of seeing one’s clone such as the 1993 film Doppleganger: The Evil Within and more recently Jordan Peele’s 2019 American Horror, ‘Us’.

Halloween is one excuse to embody that iconic person we’ve always wanted to be… even the most iconic celebrities want to dress as someone seemingly more remarkable.  

Clearly even the 2020 global pandemic didn’t stop our celebs making the effort on their Halloween costumes. We’ve all had a gruesome year from it and I’m intrigued to know what iconic Halloween costumes 2021 will bring…

Featured Image: Instagram @sophiet- Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner as Morticia and Gomez Addams