Heidi Klum dresses as giant severed hand
Heidi Klum’s 2026 Halloween costume was a surprise to many, as she dressed up as a giant, severed hand. The costume was extremely lifelike, complete with exposed bone shards at the wrist and a vampy berry manicure.
The hand was crafted to resemble Klum’s own, down to her veins and her engagement and wedding rings. Klum’s face was almost hidden amidst the flesh, but it peeked out near the severed wrist, covered in prosthetics and makeup meant to resemble tissue and blood.
Prosthetics designer Mike Marino, who frequently works with Klum on her costumes, says a lot of planning and effort goes into bringing these costumes to life. Klum and her team started thinking about this year’s ensemble as soon as Halloween 2025 ended. They have a long history of creating elaborate costumes, and this year was no exception.
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Klum has famously dressed up in a variety of costumes in the past, including Medusa, a worm, and a peacock. This year’s costume was particularly special, as it was the 25th anniversary of her Halloween party. Klum wrote on Instagram that she wanted something “unexpected, a little weird, a little creepy, and unlike anything I’d ever done before.” Marino and his team worked to create a costume that fit her vision.
The hand costume required a combination of materials and techniques, including “harnesses, mechanics, motion, fluid motion—not fluid like liquid, but stuff that moves sort of organically,” Marino explains. The hand was made of an “upholstery foam and latex” combo, and the costume also included harnesses, straps, and some silicone. This combination allowed for a realistic and flexible design.
The team looked at medical reference materials and copied the tissue types that would be in the areas of the hand, like fat, muscles, and bones. Marino says that everything was then replicated using silicone, rubber, and foam, keeping it all as lightweight as possible. This attention to detail helped create a highly realistic costume.
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For the blood, Marino didn’t want it to be wet, he just wanted it to look wet. The team made a rubber blood that stayed shiny; the only “real, wet blood” was what Klum had in her mouth. To craft the gory but hilarious face, Marino first made sculptures, with the face made in two layers: one was silicone that looked like fatty tissue and muscle, and the outer layer consisted of wounds. This multi-layered approach helped achieve a convincing and gruesome effect.
The team tries to do as much pre-work as possible, including fittings and pre-painting. This year, the actual “getting ready” started around 3 p.m. eastern time on Halloween, and Klum made her debut late that night. In total, the hand required a group of more than 35 artists, Marino shares. The team’s hard work and dedication paid off, as the costume was a huge success.
