Skip to main content

Heidi Klum goes all out for Halloween. Perhaps there’s no better example than her 2022 Halloween costume, a worm, which she spent two years brainstorming. How the supermodel came up with the idea and what she wore underneath her “tricky” worm costume.

Heidi Klum ‘tried to think outside the box’ with her 2022 Halloween costume, a worm

Heidi Klum in her 2022 Hallowene costume, a worm, with husband Tom Kaulitz
Tom Kaulitz and Heidi Klum | Gotham/GC Images

“I tried to think outside of the box to come up with other things,” Klum said at her 2022 Halloween party while dressed as a worm (via E! News). “And last year, I was thinking, oh, a tree can be really cool or like a fly. And then I kind of went from plant to rainworm.”

Two years and two canceled parties later due to coronavirus (COVID-19), the America’s Got Talent judge had her worm costume. In a behind-the-scenes look at her costume, Klum told Vogue the idea was the product of two years’ worth of brainstorming. 

“I like to do something unexpected, so I tried to think of a costume that is super absurd but also very familiar,” she said. “Because it is Halloween, you need the creepy factor, also a bit gross and disgusting.” 

To help bring her 2022 Halloween costume to life, Klum turned to makeup artist Mike Marino and Prosthetic Renaissance. “No matter how crazy my ideas are, Mike brings them to life,” Klum said. “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.’”

However, when it came to her worm costume, Marino wasn’t so sure. “I called him and said, ‘Make me a worm,’ and he said, ‘Huh?!?!?!’ He initially did not want to do it and kept encouraging me to think of a new idea,” Klum recalled. “However, I am not like that: When I fall in love with an idea, I do not want to pivot.” 

Pivot, she did not. The costume came together and Klum arrived at her Halloween party dressed as a worm alongside her husband, musician Tom Kaulitz, who went as a fisherman. 

Inside Klum’s 2022 Halloween costume: prosthetics, special effects, and a glittery bodysuit

Heidi Klum in mesh bodysuit as part of her 2022 Halloween costume
Heidi Klum | Noam Galai/Getty Images for Heidi Klum

So, how did Klum become a worm for Halloween? Marino and his team created layers to her look. The outside layer: a prosthetic shell Klum had to slip inside, which left her without the use of her arms. Next, a sort-of mask to cover Klum’s face and blend with the rest of the shell. Only her mouth and eyes were left. 

Underneath the prosthetic shell, Klum wore a bedazzled mesh bodysuit, allowing her to be able to move freely when she wanted to hit the dancefloor at Sake No Hana, a Japanese restaurant at the Moxy NYC Lower East Side hotel. 

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

Heidi Klum found her worm costume ‘tricky’ to wear to her annual Halloween party

Klum’s 2022 Halloween costume left her constricted, to say the least. As she told reporters on the red carpet, at one point while lying down, the now 50-year-old explained her costume left her with very little mobility.  

“It’s hard for me to move. I don’t really have arms or legs,” she said (via Page Six). “When I fall over I need someone to help me get back up. I’m kind of stuck in it, you know? It feels a little claustrophobic.”

Asked how she’d be able to use the bathroom, Klum replied: “That’s going to be tricky. A lot of it has to come off,” she explained, referring to her prosthetics. “When I gotta go, I’ll have to de-strap and just make it happen somehow.”

As for how Klum’s going to top her worm look that inspired memes? She’s set to reveal her next Halloween costume on Oct. 31 when it’s, once again, time for her annual party. 

Best in Entertainment