Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and the 2026 Hollywood Halloween Circuit
According to The Hollywood Reporter, celebrities embraced the holiday by recreating iconic on-screen characters and paying direct tribute to fellow public figures.
The stakes of celebrity costuming have quietly evolved into a masterclass in modern brand equity. When Paris Hilton stepped out to recreate Britney Spears’s unforgettable 2001 MTV Video Music Awards performance of “I’m a Slave 4 U,” she wasn’t just playing dress-up—she was anchoring a multi-costume weekend that also featured family interpretations of The Addams Family and Beauty and the Beast, as noted by Variety.
Morning Shows Stage Elaborate Holiday Costume Productions
Television broadcasts turned the October 30 holiday slate into sprawling theatrical productions.
Live! With Kelly and Mark hosted a “Halloween Shockin’ Eve” featuring more than 60 distinct costumes. Later in the hour, guest Lisa Rinna and producer Michael Gelman stepped out in the memorable orange ensembles worn by Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet to the Marty Supreme premiere late last year, capturing a look that has spawned months of internet memes.
Celebrities Recreate Famous Music Videos and Personal Looks
The cultural appetite for precise mimicry crossed generational lines. Kim Kardashian flipped the script on familial inspiration by dressing as her 13-year-old daughter, North West, complete with electric-blue lengths and signature piercings. On the music front, Keke Palmer teamed up with her three-year-old son to recreate Janet and Michael Jackson’s black-and-white 1995 music video for “Scream.”
As Vogue noted, imitation truly served as the dominant theme of the weekend. Janelle Monáe delivered multiple high-concept turns, starting with a blood-drenched homage to Stephen King’s Carrie at a Cinespia screening before later debuting an original character dubbed Phish Boy at the Santa Monica Pier, featuring extensive prosthetics crafted by long-term collaborator Sasha Glassier. Monáe told Vogue that the hybrid human-fish creation was designed to evoke the eerie atmosphere of a classic carnival sideshow.
Other stars dove deep into cinematic and television archives. Elizabeth Gillies channeled Luke from the 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown. Rapper Tyga chose a Martian from Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! alongside Count Orlok from Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu. In the realm of couples costumes, newlywed Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods walked through winter as Game of Thrones White Walkers, while Camila Mendes and Madelaine Petsch teamed up to channel Betty and Wilma from The Flintstones.
Disclaimer: The cultural analyses and financial data presented in this article are based on available public records and industry metrics at the time of publication.
