Best celebrity Halloween costumes

Here we are again, Halloween: a festival celebrating not so much the religious observations and superstitious fears of our forebears but an industry in its own right.

With more than a sprinkling of American culture over our own traditions, the US approach to Halloween has mixed nicely with British style and eccentricity. Whilst there are pockets of resentment toward the increased commercialism of Halloween coming over from the States, Brits have largely embraced it and to a great extent, made it our own. For children the thrill of dressing up and taking part in trick or treating is delighted across the country.

Popular culture has found its way into the choices for a lot of costumes in recent years, marking a shift away from the conventional ghoulish ensembles associated with the holiday. There aren’t any hard and fast rules as to what should be worn; some celebrity costumes have been used to make political, cultural or fashion statements.

Katy Perry, who has previously dressed as cartoon characters and used food as a theme for outfits arrived at a party this year dressed as a giant Cheeto. Let’s hope it wasn’t in smell-o-vision!

Former Victoria’s Secret model Heidi Klum celebrated her 14^th annual party this year in New York dressed as a butterfly, having spent five hours in make-up to complete her transformation. Previous years have seen her dressed as Hindu goddess Kali (a cause of outrage among some Hindus), a golden alien, a dead body (reminiscent of the ‘Bodyworlds’ exhibitions), and a robot with hydraulic shoes, alongside the more standard cat, witch and vampire outfits. On the New York celebrity scene, Heidi is Halloween’s queen of the night.

In contrast to Heidi’s extravaganza, the usually highly creative Lady Gaga appeared to opt for a much more low-tech disguise in Paris this year, leaving a restaurant in what looked like a table cloth. Perhaps she fancied a night off from costumes with her tour in full swing across Europe.

Emma Pugh