Heidi Klum has shared a close-up clue to her 2026 Halloween costume: a photograph of colorful, lumpy shapes with no recognizable face or full outfit in view. She has not identified what she plans to become.
The 53-year-old model posted the image on Instagram on October 24 and invited followers to work it out. “What’s my costume?” she asked, adding, “One week to go,” alongside Halloween emojis.
She also shared an Instagram Stories video of herself browsing a fabric store, according to People.
Her annual party is scheduled for October 31 in New York City. Klum began hosting the celebration in 2000 and has since appeared in transformations ranging from a giant worm to E.T.
Fans Suggested ‘The Last of Us,’ ‘The Substance’ and a Coral Reef
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The guesses reported by Entertainment Weekly ranged from sea life to horror characters. One commenter suggested a coral reef inspired by St. Barts, while others thought the shapes resembled human organs.
Several fans saw a possible connection to the fungus-covered Clickers in “The Last of Us.” Other suggestions included “The Substance,” Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” and the Demogorgons from “Stranger Things.”
Her September Hint Was ‘Very, Very Bloody’
Klum had already offered a clue during a September interview with People about her partnership with Apothic Wine. “It goes very well with red wine,” she said of the costume. “It’s very, very bloody.”
The collaboration included collectible bags designed to resemble blood transfusion bags, which customers could fill with wine. Apothic, a sponsor of the party, announced the promotion on September 14. Klum connected the accessory to her love of gory Halloween imagery.
Last Year’s Medusa Transformation Took 10 Hours
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For Halloween 2025, Klum wore green scales, fangs and a long serpentine tail, with moving snakes rising from her head. Her husband, musician Tom Kaulitz, accompanied her as a Greek soldier turned to stone.
Klum said she spent 10 hours getting into the costume, according to the Associated Press. She credited makeup designer Mike Marino in posts showing the preparation process.
In her September interview, Klum recalled eventually wanting the snakes off so she could return to the party. She and Kaulitz changed into hotel bathrobes and went back downstairs with towels wrapped around their heads.
Removing the Prosthetics Can Be Difficult
Klum has described the removal process as one of the less enjoyable parts of her Halloween routine. She told People that rushing it had once caused pieces of skin to be pulled from her chest. She did not identify which costume was involved.
Some outfits also make bathroom breaks difficult. Klum said she drinks fluids earlier in the day, then stops a few hours before getting into particularly restrictive creations, including her worm costume.
She Started Hosting Because Other Parties Disappointed Her
In a September 16 interview with Parade, Klum traced her interest in dressing up to childhood in Germany, where her mother made costumes for the February carnival celebrations.
She discovered Halloween after moving to New York at 20. But the parties she attended did not deliver the imaginative outfits she wanted to see, which inspired her to organize her own. Guests must arrive in costume to enter Klum’s invitation-only celebration.
Among her favorite transformations were a look that aged her to around 90 and a red robot alien with purple hair. For the latter, she learned to walk on stilts. She said photographs taken beside other people best showed how much taller the costume made her.