Halloween is, at its core, a humbling event. When October rolls around, everyone cobbles together a costume they think is the most original, the most hyper-relevant of them all, the costume to capture the zeitgeist of 2024. And then you walk into a party and see another wine stained Charli xcx from the 360 video, and it all comes crashing down.
Ultimately, it’s hilarious. There’s no joy quite like seeing someone in the same costume as you — it forges an instant camaraderie. And you get to make the “One of us has to change” joke, the opportunity for which happens much less frequently in real life than movies and TV shows would have you believe.
So as much as your niche 2024 costume might have felt ultra individual to you when you tapped it into the notes app of your phone one cold, mid-October morning, I’m afraid we are all but sheeps in a pen. So let’s settle it, how 2024 really was your costume? Here we list the strongest contenders.
Viral animal
I went to a party with two Moo Dengs last weekend, so you know we’re not lying when we say these animals have conquered Halloween 2024. Aside from Moo Deng, other viral animals include the pointing Orangutan from TikTok and that massive penguin called Pesto. But you probably just chose whichever one your friendship group is hyper fixated on, and that’s okay.
Charli xcx everything
Brat was always bound to be one of the most popular 2024 Halloween costumes, but everything actually ended up being a lot more Charli-centric than even we predicted. From recreations of her extremely specific Sweat tour looks (i.e her and Lorde performing Girl so confusing at Madison Square Garden) to her music video outfits, all the way to the 2024 Halloween equivalent of the Power Puff girls: Charli xcx, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan.
Trump of some description
Assassination trump, big baby Trump, McDonalds Trump, there’s so many to choose from. And despite the basic Trump costume initially feeling like a really dated, 2016-esque offering, his more recent stunts (can you call getting shot in the ear a stunt?) have provided fresh material, making him actually more relevant than ever.
Ultra niche internet culture reference
I hate gay Halloween what do you mean you're the tired but wired DW meme? pic.twitter.com/TUnJddlR0C
— RICKY (@Rickyismsss) October 25, 2024
‘I hate gay Halloween what do you mean you’re…’ and then insert a costume name which will perform well on the internet but comes with mandatory visual aids (i.e a screenshot of the meme) when actually worn around real life people. The nicher the costume, the more 2024 you are. We have reached peak pop culture costuming. Next year it will be chic and ironic to go as something incredibly basic, like a low effort witch. Mark my words.
Something so insanely reliant on special effects makeup it can barely be considered a costume
Janelle Monáe and Heidi Klum both pulled out all the stops this Halloween with their extremely realistic E.T costumes, something which I doubt they planned to coordinate (awkward!), but proves just how insane Halloween “costuming” in Hollywood has become. Many other celebs, including Heidi Klum’s daughter, Leni Klum, who was wearing a full face of prosthetic makeup and alien eye adornments, have followed in Klum’s footsteps with wilder and wilder SFX costuming.
Basically, if you’re an A-list celeb in 2024 and you’re not covered in so much special effects makeup that you might as well be on an actual film set, apparently you’ve lost Halloween. Bonus points if you have to breathe via some sort of tube, or if the costume suit you’re wearing has its own ventilation. Really gives the kids something to aspire to.
Challengers trio
Challengers Accepted 🎾🎾🎾 #HappyHalloween pic.twitter.com/ZLUBrI58vq
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) October 31, 2024
This is the true winning costume for Halloween: the one everyone wishes they could do, but actually very few can successfully pull off. This could be due to aesthetic reasons (i.e not looking like Zendaya, a misfortune that’s already depressing enough as it is) or, more likely, due to it being hard to find two men who will willingly play along as her loyal and sexually ambiguous devotees, Art and Patrick. For those who managed it, congrats, you won Halloween 2024.
