2024 Top 10 Most Iconic Halloween Costumes
Written by Mia Quigley
Halloween is the one time a year where anyone and everyone can showcase their creative side without any fear of judgment. Whether it's sexy, funny, or outright terrifying, people have the freedom to be any alternate persona for at least one night.
Celebrity Halloween in particular has become a global phenomenon. It’s not just a store-bought costume or an at-home DIY, but an entire team production that will leave a legacy for others to admire and recreate. Custom-made clothing, prosthetics, hair and makeup artists, and well-advanced planning are the keys to creating these iconic costumes.
As Halloween falls on a Thursday this year, there has been controversy around which weekend is actually “Halloweekend”. Nevertheless, two Halloweekends just means there’s double the costumes to rate! So, I’ve decided to create a list of the “Top 10 most iconic celebrity Halloween costumes of 2024”.
Here are the winners for Halloweekend #1:
1. Alix Earle - Cheshire Cat
Tik Tok Influencer and podcast host, Alix Earle, flooded the media with her impressively accurate Cheshire Cat costume. Instead of the typical pink and purple striped outfit, Alix went above and beyond to fully transform herself into the fictional cat. Not only did she cover herself from head to toe in striped body paint, but also added a prosthetic cat face, whiskers, and piercing yellow contacts to create the full effect. This costume was iconic not only due to its accurate portrayal but also in her ability to style it in a way that reflects her stylish and whimsical persona.
2. Tyla - Sharon stone, Flintstones
South African R&B artist, Tyla, showed out in Halle Berry’s iconic Flintstones costume. The attention to detail is what really made this look so remarkable: from the hair and makeup to the outfit and props; this costume was almost completely identical to Halle’s character. The same cave background is what brought this costume to life. The chunky, polished-stone necklace and bengal, tiger print nails and eyebrow slit elevated this look with its modernity. Being able to replicate a character so precisely while still incorporating modern fashion trends is truly spectacular.
3. Tana Mongeou - Lady Gaga
“Cancelled” podcast host and YouTuber, Tana Mongeau, embraced her celebrity persona by dressing up as Lady Gaga at the 2010 VMAs. This costume was a perfect fit for Tana, as both she and Gaga are known for their scandalous and bold personalities. Her Instagram caption reads, “I was born this way (filler, nose job, hair extensions, corsets, makeup artists and spray tan)”. She even had her boyfriend dress head to toe in silver to replicate the VMA award trophy. The blue hair, blinged-out diamonds, and poultry ensemble were almost indistinguishable from Gaga’s original fit. The craziest part is that Tana’s dress and shoes (not pictured) were both completely made of actual raw Argentinian beef. Sorry vegans.
4. Janelle Moneae - ET
Actress and singer, Janelle Monae, shocked everyone with her alarmingly, real-life E.T. costume. Already completely unrecognizable, she took even further lengths to dress up as multiple different forms of E.T. seen in the movie, like ET dressed in girls' clothing and ET in the basket of the flying bike. Her Instagram caption, “You finally came home. 🛸👆🏽Welcome back E.T. Thank you Google Maps. 🛸”, implies that ET finally ‘phoned home’ decades later. Janelle Monae has been known for her impressively unique and memorable costumes over the years, but this one may take the cake. According to Vogue, she says “Elliot has touched my heart deeply. This movie always leaves me in tears. The bond Elliot and E.T. had was a display of the best parts of us; pure love and allyship. We need more of that. I’m always praying we can all impact each other’s lives like they did each other’s.” Knowing her emotional connection to this character makes this costume even more influential.
5. Kordell and Serena - Clueless
2024 Love Island winners, Serena and Kordell, “did their big one” dressing as Dionne and Murray from Clueless. Not only do their looks accurately represent the characters, but so do their personalities. Serena is known for independence, level-headedness, and confidence, which are traits demonstrated by Dionne. Kordell is known for his humor and fashion sense, which are also found in Murray’s character. The couple replicated different scenes and outfits from the show on their Instagram, to relive the classic 90’s rom-com high school relationship. Serena captioned her Instagram post, “I hate when you call me woman 🙄…” exhibiting Dionne’s feminist values with her iconic quote.
6. Chloe Bailey - Jessica Rabbit
Hear me out… Jessica Rabbit.
Singer and actress, Chloe Bailey, stuns in (arguably one of the most accurate) Jessica Rabbit costume. The auburn side-parted wig, flawless makeup, and strapless red sequin dress create the illusion that the character herself came to life. Bailey’s ability to accurately portray a cartoon character in a glamorous, chic way truly embodies the feminine energy of this character. Bailey’s pose and attitude in this particular photo not only look like she's straight from the movie scene, but also showcases her actress talent, in her ability to take the true form of a fictional character.
7. Lizzo - South Park Diet Suppressor
Hip hop Artist, Lizzo, left the media stunned with her humorous, one-of-a-kind Halloween costume. In a recent episode of South Park, “The End of Obesity”, they draw attention to the current problem of insurance companies only supporting weight-loss for the upper class. So, they created “Lizzo” as the Ozempic alternative for lower-income individuals. But instead of making patients slimmer, it helps them learn to accept and embrace their bigger bodies. Lizzo, a leading advocate for body positivity and self-love, chose to embrace this parody and show out as South Park's "Lizzo" prescription for Halloween. In her reaction to the episode she claimed, “I just feel like damn, I’m really that b*tch. I really showed the world how to love yourself and not give a f**k, to the point where these men in Colorado know who the f**k I am, and put it on their cartoon that’s been around for 25 years.”
8. James Charles - Apollo
Makeup artist and influencer, James Charles, goes back in time to recreate a real-life statue of Apollo, the God of art. Known for his skill and experience with makeup, this costume represents the intricacy and beauty of makeup art. Charles’s costume is already so unique and uniform to the historical statue, and it, becomes even more impressive that he did the face makeup himself. As seen in his TikTok “Get Ready with Me”, James shows a step-by-step process, with products from his own makeup line “Painted”. To complete the look, he poses on a marble pedestal, chiseled out in silver body paint, draped in a himation, in front of a heaven-like background.
9. Amelia Dimoldenberg- Roz from Monsters Inc.
Chicken Shop Date host, Amelia Dimoldenberg, is completely unrecognizable in her hyper-accurate Roz costume. Known for her comedic persona on her podcast, it is no surprise she strayed away from the stereotypical Halloween costumes and dressed up as something many would never consider. Her team attached prosthetics, covered her in slime-colored body paint, and custom-made Roz’s outfit to fully transform her into this slug-like figure. To bring this character even more to life, they shot photos in an office set with props and even wall art seen in the movie, like the “it’s my way or the highway” sign.
10. Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco - Alice and the Mad Hatter
Celebrity stars, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, take a trip to Wonderland with their Alice and Mad Hatter couple costumes. Gomez is seen wearing a beautiful off-the-shoulder pale blue tutu dress and white sling-back block heels with a black toe. Blanco disguised himself in white airbrush makeup with a classic red afro, top hat, and a mismatched baggy suit. What stands out about this look though, is that the two added their own small details to the outfits to make it more modern. For example, Gomez is wearing mid-calf ruffle socks and Blanco is wearing a polka-dot shirt layered underneath his waistcoat, both current fashion trends. Nonetheless, this couple’s magical costumes left many people obsessed.
Edited by Hana Razvi, Sophia Buckholtz, Olivia Daly & Katherine Rubinstein
