If you think you’ve seen every wild Halloween costume, Heidi Klum is here to prove you wrong. On Saturday night, October 31, 2026, she celebrated 25 years of her famous New York party by turning up as a huge, bloody, severed hand. Yes, really. The idea sounds simple, but pulling it off was anything but easy.
Let’s walk through what happened, who showed up and why people can’t stop talking about it. I’ll keep it easy to follow.
Where and when the party happened
The 25th annual Halloween party was held at Cathédrale, a restaurant in Manhattan. Apothic and Butterfinger presented the night, and things kicked off at around 9 p.m.
Klum is 53 now, and she’s been hosting this bash for a quarter of a century. Over the years it has become one of the biggest celebrity nights of the spooky season. Guests know they need to bring their best, because the host always sets the bar sky high.
She also held a smaller get together on October 29 for family and close friends. Actress Sofia Vergara was reported to be there.
The costume, step by step
This year’s look was properly gory. Klum dressed as a giant copy of her own left hand, and the small details are what made it so striking.
Picture long, red, freshly done nails and a thumb ring. Add her engagement ring and wedding band on the fingers. Her head sat right in the middle, where the wrist would be, and from the top of that wrist hung torn veins, tendons and ligaments. Only her eyes and mouth were showing. She stuck her tongue out, with fake blood dripping from her lips.
She didn’t walk in alone either. A team of helpers in hazmat suits, all splashed with fake blood, came with her. It felt like a scene from a horror film. Reports say the costume was painted by hand, with every part made just for this night.
The Associated Press report says the idea came to her last year. She looked down at her own hand and wondered if her whole body could fit inside it. That’s a simple thought, but turning it into something she could actually wear took serious skill and planning.
A look that was teased for days
Klum didn’t keep her fans guessing quietly. In the days before the party, she posted close up photos of glossy, gel covered material. Some bits looked like pink brains, and others looked like little yellow craters. She also said the costume would be “very, very bloody,” so people were warned.
That teasing is half the fun. Fans guess online, the excitement builds, and then the big reveal lands on the night itself. It’s an easy trick, and it works every single year.
Who else was there
Klum’s kids were with her. Leni Klum, Lou Samuel and Johan Samuel were all pictured beside their mum at the party.
Her husband, Tom Kaulitz, missed this year’s event. That stood out, because the two often wear matching costumes. Last year she went as Medusa, and he dressed as a man turned to stone by her stare.
Other guests photographed on the night included Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Rebecca Mir and Massimo Sinató, Amanda Nguyen, Antoine Verglas and Karen Mulder. You can see more arrivals in this Forbes report on the party.
One honest note here. Early coverage mostly focuses on Klum’s own costume and who walked the carpet. Full details of what every guest wore were still coming in when this was written, so I won’t guess who had the “best” outfit. That will get clearer as more photos and reports appear.
Her recent Halloween looks at a glance
Klum has earned the nickname Queen of Halloween. This simple table shows a few of her best known recent looks, based on published reports.
| Year | Her costume |
|---|---|
| 2022 | A realistic giant worm, which went viral |
| 2023 | A peacock |
| 2025 | Medusa, with a long tail and snakes on her head |
| 2026 | A giant severed hand |
Over the years she has also appeared as Fiona from Shrek, Jessica Rabbit and E.T. Every costume seems to try to beat the last one, which is exactly why people keep watching.
Why this keeps getting attention
So why does Heidi Klum stay at the centre of Halloween news? A few reasons stand out.
The first is the sheer effort. These aren’t costumes you grab from a shop. They use heavy prosthetics, special effects and a whole team behind the scenes, and the 2026 hand is the latest proof.
The second is the surprise. Nobody knows the final look until she walks through the door. Even with all the hints, the full reveal still shocks people.
The third is the milestone. Twenty five years of hosting is a big deal. The party paused during the Covid years, then returned in 2022 with that worm costume, and it has only got louder since.
Her love of dressing up doesn’t stop in October, either. At the 2026 Met Gala in May, she showed up as a living marble sculpture, inspired by an 1847 artwork called the Veiled Vestal. She wore grey contact lenses and body paint. The theme was “Costume Art,” and she clearly took it very literally.
What this means for fans
If you enjoy celebrity news and fashion, this one is easy to enjoy. Halloween isn’t celebrated the same way everywhere, but you don’t need an explanation to appreciate a woman turning herself into a giant bloody hand. It was bold, a little scary and very well made.
For readers in South Africa who love pop culture, red carpet moments and daring style, it’s a fun reminder of how far creativity can go. You don’t need a huge budget or a team of makeup artists to enjoy dressing up. A simple idea, done with confidence, can take you a long way. Klum just happens to take that idea as far as it can go.
The bottom line
Heidi Klum marked 25 years of her Halloween party by becoming a giant severed hand, complete with her own rings, torn tendons and a crew in bloody hazmat suits. Her husband was away, her kids were by her side, and a mix of models, actors and TV faces filled the room at Cathédrale.
The idea was simple, but making it real clearly wasn’t. Now everyone is wondering how she’ll top it next October.
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