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Spooky season is officially underway. Here are some notable viral costumes from queer people and queer icons to get the creative juices flowing.
Halloween is unofficially a gay holiday — and without a doubt, we've made it our own. As celebrities share their Halloween costumes every year, our eyes are always on the queer celebrities (and Heidi Klum, the canonical queen of camp). Over the years, there have been some jaw-dropping costumes from members of the LGBTQ+ community and gay icons, so we decided to take a look back at the ones that broke the internet when the pictures were released.
It's exciting to see how our favorite celebs were able to one-up themselves every year, so let's review some of the most stunning Halloween looks.
In recent memory, Janelle Monáe solidified herself as someone who fully commits to Halloween costumes, and this year was no different. She shared photos of herself as the titular character in Beetlejuice. Knowing her, there's a good chance this may not be the only costume this year.
The reigning queen of Halloween undoubtedly surprises everyone with her costume(s) every year as she walks down the red carpet for her annual party. But in this case, she didn't walk — she slinked and hopped her way down the step-and-repeat as a worm in 2022. People weren't sure what to expect from the model and Project Runway host, but it definitely wasn't this.
Alex Consani is one of the most in-demand fashion models in the world, but also the most unserious. The chronically online fashion superstar is known for outlandish antics on social media, so it's no surprise she dressed as "Sexy Gru," a play on the character from the animated kids' movie, Despicable Me.
Eugene Lee Yang is a contender for one to watch during the Halloween season, and he gagged his fans with a complete prosthetic transformation as the Stranger Things antagonist, Vecna, back in 2022 when the show last released a season. The horror Netflix series is a constant source of inspiration for costumes — from Eleven holding her Eggo waffles or a Scoops Ahoy employee. We're excited about what this last and final season will bring.
Sometimes, simpler is better, even for someone as eccentric as Lady Gaga. In 2014, Mother Monster decided to craft a last-minute costume on her way out of a restaurant in Paris. She acquired a tablecloth and snipped some eye holes for a classic "ghost" look, and it's honestly very chic.
Addison Rae found a lane for herself amongst the cool girls of the entertainment industry, cozying up to people like Charli Xcx, A.G. Cook, and Caroline Polachek. Not too soon after Troye Sivan and Charli welcomed Rae as a guest at the New York stop of their Sweat Tour to perform her single "Diet Pepsi" for the first time, the Australian pop star dressed up as her from a paparazzi picture where she's seen reading Britney Spears's memoir while walking on the streets.
The Out100 Icon of the Year cover star, Niecy Nash-Betts, perfectly executed an imitation of A$AP Rocky and Rihanna's 2021 couple debut Met Gala look with her wife, Jessica Betts. The stunning couple wore what seemed like the exact same garments the pop star and the father of her three kids wore when they first walked a red carpet together.
Cardi B treats Halloween just as seriously as any other queer does, especially celebrities who go the extra mile with a conceptual photo shoot for their costumes. The Bronx rapper fully embodied the iconic television mom, Marge Simpson, with a slightly sexual spin on her usual look. She donned a light green corseted bodysuit, yellow body paint, and red platform heels.
Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka, have been dressing up their kids for years, and the kids seem to be enjoying the family tradition. In 2021, instead of dressing as characters from the same movie, they decided to be four iconic horror characters. Harris portrayed Norman Bates from Psycho, Burtka as Jack Torrance from The Shining, Gideon as the evil doll Chucky, and Harper as the possessed Regan from The Exorcist.
Fans of Megan Thee Stallion will know that she's a huge anime nerd and even has a song about it ("Otaku Hot Girl"). This isn't her first time dressing up as an anime character, but this one definitely stood out for obvious reasons. She put her own spin on the iconic character Starfire, and she looked fire.
Moises Mendez II is an Out Magazine staff writer based in Brooklyn, New York. He covers internet culture and entertainment, including television, movies, music, and more. Before joining Out, he was a Culture Reporter at TIME Magazine, and he previously worked as a freelance journalist, with work appearing in The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Fast Company, and more. Moises holds a master's degree in Arts and Culture journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
Moises Mendez II is an Out Magazine staff writer based in Brooklyn, New York. He covers internet culture and entertainment, including television, movies, music, and more. Before joining Out, he was a Culture Reporter at TIME Magazine, and he previously worked as a freelance journalist, with work appearing in The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Fast Company, and more. Moises holds a master's degree in Arts and Culture journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
