Heidi Klum arrives at Halloween party as giant severed hand

Heidi Klum has once again set the bar for celebrity Halloween costumes, this time showing up as an enormous severed hand. According to IOL, the supermodel and television personality wore the outfit to the 25th edition of her yearly Halloween bash, held at Cathédrale in New York on Saturday, 31 October.

The costume was a giant copy of Klum’s left hand. It featured long red nails, rings, veins and torn-looking tendons at the wrist. Only her eyes and mouth could be seen through a gap in the design. She was escorted into the venue by assistants wearing hazmat suits stained with fake blood.

A year of planning and months of building

The costume was made by special effects makeup artist Mike Marino, whose film credits include Coming 2 America and The Batman. IOL reported that the concept started when Klum looked at her own hand and wondered whether she could fit inside a much larger version of it.

She took the suggestion to Marino, and the two worked on the design for a year. Building the costume then took a further four months. The team used detailed body scans of her hand so the replica would match the real thing, down to the rings and nails. Even the tattoo of her husband Tom Kaulitz’s name on her ring finger was reproduced.

Getting dressed was a lengthy process, taking between five and six hours on the night. Klum told reporters at the party that carrying the creation was the toughest part. “Hands down, the hardest thing is carrying it,” she said.

Twenty-five years of costumes

The party has grown into one of the best-known celebrity events of the year. Klum’s earlier looks have included Medusa, E.T., Princess Fiona from Shrek, a giant worm and a werewolf based on Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. In 2023 she appeared as a peacock, while Kaulitz joined her dressed as the egg.

The tradition began in 2000. It paused in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Klum has also said she does not throw her costumes away once the night is over. She keeps them all in storage.

This story is based on reporting by IOL.