Halloween is a chance to make a fashion statement, whether through a beauty look lifted from 2016, a pop culture reference or an outfit that captures the year’s most talked-about moments.
From throwback glamour and Internet-inspired absurdity to celebrity couples and cinematic characters, these costume ideas offer plenty of inspiration for dressing up with a distinctly 2026 sensibility.
After all, the right wig, accessories and a little creative styling can turn even the most unlikely reference into a memorable look.
The beauty look from 2016
Halloween is a holiday for wild makeup looks, so why not tackle the most era-defining of all – the stuff people were wearing every day in 2016.
Recreate the look with an elaborate cut-crease using a Morphe or Naked eye shadow palette, heavily drawn-on brows courtesy of Anastasia Beverly Hills brow pomade, and layers of matte lipstick that flake off when you speak.
Finish with skinny jeans, your best going-out top and at least one choker necklace, then capture it all with a Snapchat filter.
Read more: Can fashion’s AI models replace humans without paying the price?
Nathan Fielder and Elizabeth Holmes
A salt-and-pepper wig, a blonde wig, blue contact lenses, copious blush and an unwavering conviction that you did nothing wrong set the scene for this unsettling double act.
Halloween is supposed to be scary. If you really want to unsettle people, dress up as convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, whose health technology company Theranos became infamous for its deception, and comedian-slash-airplane-pilot Nathan Fielder.
Take cues from the teaser for Fielder’s forthcoming documentary, You Can See Everything, in which the two maintain laser-like eye contact while Holmes bounces a baby’s rocker with her foot.
On the off chance you get caught stealing candy, try out a line like “Of course I’m not deceiving you” or “I’m always being real”.
Wilted rose emoji
Transform yourself into a wilted rose with large papier-mache petals hanging over your head, a bright green bodysuit, a few spritzes of floral perfume and a frowny face.
A mild case of tech neck will help sell the look.
The wilted rose emoji, which has come to signify heartbreak (or mock it), is enjoying its moment in the spotlight with generation Alpha.
If you’re among the roughly 69% of adults in the United States who are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, the wilted rose might be the perfect costume to symbolise national ennui.
Gloria Steinem
Channel Gloria Steinem with a chunky belt, flared pants or a miniskirt, aviator glasses, Wonder Woman-esque cuffs and long nails.
A long, centre-parted wig with blond streaks is essential to complete the look.
The face of the feminist movement in the US, who died last month at 92, was once dismissed for being nothing more than “the mini-skirted pinup girl of the intelligentsia”.
But that description, for those who admired her lifelong advocacy on behalf of women’s rights, is exactly what made her an icon for more than half a century.
Erling Haaland and raccoon
Recreate Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland’s iconic look with a blonde wig, sunglasses, the largest tote bag you can get your hands on and a raccoon plush toy (arguably preferable to the taxidermy alternative).
Raccoons have had quite the year (Jimothy, for example, or the critter that got drunk and passed out at a Virginia liquor store).
Perhaps the most distinguished yet has been the taxidermy travel companion of Haaland.
The raccoon, which Haaland bought for US$750 (approximately RM3,000) at a western store in Dallas during the FIFA World Cup 2026, is clasping an empty bottle of booze in its paws.
The 'Yesteryear' family
To pull off the Yesteryear family look, gather a brood of six or more “children” with matching shoulder-length hair and neutral clothing, a patriarch in a cowboy hat and, for the tradwife influencer, a purple apron and a homemade herby boule.
For the lit-minded, you could do worse than look for inspiration in the novel that Stephen King described as “sharp enough to draw blood”.
Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear, which pushes the tradwife phenomenon to its extreme, twisted conclusion, landed with a thud in this year’s culture wars and seemed to haunt those who once embraced that lightning rod of a label.
And as the age-old saying goes – if Anne Hathaway has signed up to cosplay as the book’s protagonist, Natalie Heller Mills, why not you?
Bad Bunny’s sugar cane bush
If being perceived gives you the ick, here’s a Halloween solution that requires no makeup.
Inspired by the anonymous performers dressed as leafy sugar cane bushes during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show, this costume lets you join the spectacle without revealing your identity. Simply standing there will do.
Create a wearable outfit covered in synthetic palm fronds, using a hot-glue gun to attach the faux plants, then top it off with a hat to conceal your likeness.
Read more: New York Bridal Week spotlights vintage romance and sculptural silhouettes
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
Channel Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, the pop superstar and American football player whose high-profile romance has made them one of celebrity culture’s most recognisable couples.
Think a blonde wig, sparkly bodysuit and a big diamond for Swift, paired with a football jersey for Kelce.
Look, this is not a costume that will win you any contests. But perhaps it will win you new friends when you arrive at the party and discover that you are one of several Tayvises (fans who passionately follow the duo’s high-profile relationship) in attendance.
You can reminisce about the celebrity wedding of the year with your fellow jocks and pop stars who also did not spend very much time thinking about their outfits.
Not 'Black Swan' Natalie Portman
Recreate Natalie Portman’s ballerina look from Black Swan with a black leotard, tutu, feathered headband and dramatic black eye makeup.
If you’re feeling ambitious, add bloodstained wings sprouting from your back, and carry a copy of Rachel Cusk’s Life Of M, the novel whose actress protagonist has fuelled speculation that she is an unflattering fictional portrayal of Portman.
This costume has layers – not just tulle, but metafictional ones.
Dress up as Portman’s psychologically unravelled ballerina from Black Swan, then enjoy correcting people who assume they recognise your character by explaining that you are not, in fact, Portman playing a ballerina mid-breakdown, but rather her character as imagined by experimental novelist Cusk.
Various sheep...
Swaddle yourself in high-pile fleece, set up a Letterboxd account (the social platform where film buffs log and review films) and chew on some cud for the full sheep experience.
Sheep are having a breakthrough moment in cinema, with seemingly everyone talking about their latest on-screen appearances.
Those planning to dress as sheep on Halloween have plenty of options in the twee mystery Sheep Detectives, including Lily, Sebastian and that miserable- looking winter lamb.
You could also throw in some sheep from The Odyssey and Frankenstein, then spend the night acting offended that your so-called cinephile friends can’t even distinguish between sheep as conceptualised by Christopher Nolan and Guillermo Del Toro. Embarrassing! – ©2026 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
