Celebrity Halloween costumes: From Kendall Jenner’s Fembot to Beyoncé as Barbie

For celebrities, finding a Halloween costume that’s both headline-grabbing and uber-Instagrammable seems to have become a competitive sport.

Instead of leaving it until an hour before a fancy dress party kicks off like us mere mortals, the stars go all out on October 31 to create an outfit that’s more impressive and extravagant than last year’s — it’s like a spooky Met Gala.

Of course, with full glam teams just a phone call away, our favourite A-listers have access to fancy dress resources that the rest of us can only dream of — who can forget Katy Perry’s uncanny Hillary Clinton, or Heidi Klum’s genuinely unsettling OAP prosthetics? Or, lest we forget, the worm?

If you’re in need of some last minute costume inspiration, here are some of our favourite stand out looks — scroll through the gallery above to look back on how the stars have dressed up in years gone by…

Lil Nas X as Ice Spice

One of the most simple but effective costumes of Halloween 2022 was Lil Nas X’s strangely on-point imitation of Ice Spice, impractically long peach acrylics and all. He was actually pretty ahead of the trend, given that Ice Spice’s breakout single Munch only dropped a couple of months earlier. This costume is set to be absolutely everywhere in 2023, so well done on getting ahead of the trend, Lil Nas X.

Bella Hadid and The Weeknd as Lydia Deetz and Beetlejuice

This fashionable former couple showed that they could have a little fun with their relationship back in 2018 when they rocked up at a NYC Halloween bash in full Beetlejuice get-up, with Tesfaye dressed as the eponymous ghoul and Hadid as Winona Ryder’s main character, Lydia Deetz. This look remained a Halloween staple long after Hadid and Tesfaye parted ways, but we have to give the odd couple credit for getting it back into circulation.

Kendall Jenner as a Fembot

If the Kardashians love one thing other than family beef and overpriced pre-packaged salads, it’s Halloween. Each year becomes an internal battle between the sisters, and in 2018, Kendall Jenner was the undisputed winner. The reality-TV-star-turned-model arrived at the annual Casamigos Halloween party in Las Vegas in full Fembot get-up, like something straight out of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. It was a slay.

Jordan Stephens and Jade Thirlwall as Sideshow Bob and Marge

Now that Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas are no more, there is only one couple to look to this Halloween: Jordan Stephens and Jade Thirlwall, of Rizzle Kicks and Little Mix fame. These beloved British sweethearts always pull through, though it’d be hard to beat their 2021 look, with Stephens as The Simpsons’ Sideshow Bob and Thirlwall as Marge, carrying a disembodied Homer head as her purse.

Lupita Nyong’o as Dionne from Clueless

Okay, so 2018 was an unusually good year for Halloween, right? Maybe the celebs secretly knew this was their penultimate Spooky Season before Covid would shut it down for two years so they decided to go extra hard in preparation. Who knows? All that’s certain is that Lupita Nyong’o ate and left no crumbs with this Dionne from Clueless costume. This is a note to all the girlies trying to pull off Cher or Dionne with a simple plaid skirt and blazer: accessories matter, don’t do anything by halves.

Harry Styles as Dorothy

Never one to shy away from a skirt moment, Harry Styles dressed up as Dorothy for Halloween 2021 when he was performing on tour. He dubbed the Halloween tour show “Harryween” and came out dressed in full Wizard of Oz get up, rouge cheeks and all. Yes it’s hot, we can all admit it.