Heidi Klum Went as a Worm for Halloween, Because It Needed to Be Her Most "Magical" Costume Yet

It worked, man.

Heidi Klum's Hallowe'en Party 2022
(Image credit: Photo by Taylor Hill / Getty)

Heidi Klum owns Halloween, there's no doubt about it.

The supermodel has years behind her of breaking out the best Halloween costumes you've ever seen, as well as hosting glitzy parties to celebrate the spooky holiday.

But this year, Klum truly outdid herself. You may have already seen the ubiquitous photos of her dressed as a worm, but it's so hilarious and ridiculous that I had to take you on a deeper dive into her bizarre choice.

Klum spoke to British Vogue about her transformation into a worm, and I'm obsessed. She also got into the joy of organizing her big party again for the first time since the pandemic broke out.

"I was so excited that I got to throw a party again," she said. "I wanted this year’s party to be better than ever—and that means my costume needed to be more magical than in the years past."

I love that her brain went, "Hmmm, what's magical? I know! A worm!" (For the avoidance of doubt, Klum did not say this, it's just me imagining her inner dialogue.)

Here's what she actually said: "I like to do something unexpected, so I tried to think of a costume that is super absurd, but also very familiar." She added, "Because it is Halloween, you need the creepy factor, also a bit gross and disgusting." OK, fair.

Obviously, Klum's Halloween costumes aren't exactly accessible to mere mortals: They take a whole team of prosthetics experts, led by makeup artist Mike Marino.

"No matter how crazy my ideas are, Mike brings them to life," Klum told Vogue. "I wanted to be Jessica Rabbit, and he said, 'No problem.' I wanted to be the werewolf from the 'Thriller' video, and he said, 'No problem.' Clone me five times? 'No problem.'"

But the worm, apparently, was where Marino wanted to draw the line.

"I called him and said, 'Make me a worm,' and he said, 'Huh?!'" Klum recalled. "He initially did not want to do it and kept encouraging me to think of a new idea. However, I am not like that: When I fall in love with an idea, I do not want to pivot."

Explaining her thinking, Klum said, "I wanted people to shed the heaviness of the world and be playful. I love the transformation of Halloween: People wear costumes, and with that, shed some insecurities of everyday life."

She continued, "This year, there was nothing human about this at all, so I was really transformed. I loved that this was a random species in nature that is being scaled up and brought to life.

"I love the color of a worm, as there are so many subtle colors of pinks and browns within its body. And the way their segmented anatomy allows them to move so seamlessly. They seem so simple to the eye, but there is so much going on."

Answering the age-old question asked by (usually) female partners to their (usually) male partners—"would you still love me if I was a worm?"—Klum appeared on the red carpet with her husband dressed as a spooky fisherman and making a show of using his wife as fishing bait, as she writhed on the floor. Well, now we know?

Heidi Klum's Hallowe'en Party 2022

(Image credit: Photo by Taylor Hill / Getty)
Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.