Event Report / Published 2026-11-01

Heidi Klum Turns Up as a Severed Hand for Her 25th Halloween Party

Heidi Klum marked the 25th year of her New York Halloween party as a severed human hand, a costume The Hollywood Reporter says was modelled on her own hand and finished with a manicure.

A flat vector illustration of an empty party stage before a reveal: navy backdrop, a raised round plinth under one cold spotlight, dark side panels and scattered pale confetti on the floor. Geometric shapes only, no people, no faces, no gore, no logos and no readable text.
Conceptual editorial illustration; not a photograph of the people or event described.

THE SHORT VERSION

  • Klum attended the 25th edition of her annual Halloween party in New York City on 31 October dressed as a severed human hand, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
  • The Hollywood Reporter reports that she arrived in a truck covered in red danger signs, was helped out by actors in hazmat suits, and told red-carpet interviewers the hand recreated her own.
  • Neither report gives a guest list, a budget or a build time; Variety records that last year's Medusa costume took a team of 15 artists.

A severed hand, built to look like hers

Heidi Klum arrived at her annual Halloween party in New York on Saturday night dressed as a severed human hand, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. Variety calls the look a realistic-looking severed human hand. The Hollywood Reporter has the arrival detail: Klum came in a truck covered in red danger signs and was helped to the ground by actors in yellow hazmat suits.

What both reports describe is a construction rather than a joke. The Hollywood Reporter says the costume has a bloody wrist with Klum's head at the center of the hand, and fingers wearing rings and a fresh manicure. In red-carpet interviews, the outlet reports, she said the hand was an intricate recreation of her own. Variety's description is shorter and lands on the same point: the model known for over-the-top costumes chose a hand that looked real. Neither report carries a direct quotation from Klum about the hand itself.

The 25th party, at Cathédrale

The Hollywood Reporter places the party at Cathédrale Restaurant at Moxy East Village, presented by Apothic and Butterfinger, on 31 October in New York City. Both outlets put the edition at 25: The Hollywood Reporter calls it the 25th anniversary of her NYC Halloween party, and Variety says this year's celebration marked the 25th year. Neither report gives a guest count or a ticket price.

On one detail the two accounts part. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Klum appeared without her husband, Tom Kaulitz, who has dressed up alongside her in recent years. Variety instead looks back to the previous party, where Kaulitz went as an ancient Greek soldier she had turned to stone. Neither report explains his absence, and neither carries a statement from the couple. The difference matters for a reader who sees only one account: the absence is reported by one outlet and not mentioned by the other.

The designer behind the hand

The Hollywood Reporter names Mike Marino, a special effects makeup designer who won an Emmy for his work on The Penguin, as Klum's collaborator on the costume. In an interview the outlet cites, Marino says this year's build was among the most ambitious he has made: “one of the most elaborate costumes ever made”. He adds that it was difficult to do, and that the complication of it was really challenging.

The run-up was part of the act. Klum spent the day posting glimpses of the transformation on Instagram and asking followers to guess what she would become, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Earlier in the year she had given People a hint, saying the look was “very, very bloody” and “goes very well with red wine”. She also partnered with Apothic Wines on a limited-edition blood bag collectible, which the outlet says was served at the party.

Medusa, 15 artists and one night

For comparison, Variety has the previous year's costume in detail. At the 2025 party Klum went as Medusa, with a headpiece decorated with writhing snakes and a trailing tail, while Kaulitz went as an ancient Greek soldier she had turned to stone. Variety reports that it took a team of 15 artists to create that costume, a number Klum gave the outlet at the 2025 event.

Variety also printed her view of how long these looks last. She described the costume as disposable by design: “This is only good for the night. Tonight. Everything goes down the drain, so to speak, in the shower.” That line is the closest either report comes to saying what the hand costs or what happens to it afterwards. Neither outlet reports a budget, a build time or the materials.

E.T., Fiona, Jessica Rabbit and a worm

The two outlets keep overlapping lists of past looks. Variety names E.T., Fiona from Shrek, Jessica Rabbit and the werewolf from Michael Jackson's Thriller among her past characters, along with creatures including a peacock, a worm and a butterfly. The Hollywood Reporter lists Medusa, E.T., a peacock, Fiona from Shrek and Jessica Rabbit, and singles out the worm.

Both treat the costume as the reason the party exists rather than a detail of it. Variety says Klum has become known for her over-the-top costumes and that she returned for another year of the party. The Hollywood Reporter calls her the Queen of Halloween and the event one of Spooky Season's most iconic. Neither describes the room, the guest list or the entertainment beyond the blood bags.

Project Runway, Making the Cut and what is missing

Away from Halloween, Variety reports that Klum hosted the 22nd season of Project Runway this year and judged alongside Nina Garcia and Law Roach. She returned to the fashion competition last year after exiting in 2018, having hosted 16 seasons since its 2004 debut on Bravo. Variety adds that she and Tim Gunn created Making the Cut for Prime Video in 2020, which ran for three seasons.

What both reports leave out is consistent: no charity component, no guest list, no confirmation of what next year holds and no comment from Klum beyond the red-carpet remarks. The hand is the story they tell, and both describe it as a build, from the wrist to the manicure. Related coverage on this site includes the Ghosts season 6 Halloween special, American Horror Story season 13's finale and IT: Welcome to Derry's surprise Halloween episode.

Sources & reporting limits

  1. Heidi Klum Dressed Up as a Severed Human Hand for Her Annual Halloween Party — Variety
  2. Heidi Klum Reveals This Year's (Very Bloody) Halloween Costume — The Hollywood Reporter
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