Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, which meant stars had a full weekend to show off. And if one trend stood out, it was celebrities dressing up as other celebrities, from pop icons to fellow actors and even their own kids.
Here are some of the standout looks of Halloween 2026, based on roundups from NME and Elle.
Celebrities dressing as celebrities
Zendaya recreated Halle Berry’s look from the New York premiere of X-Men in July 2000, complete with a patterned bikini top, low-rise trousers and a short hairstyle. It was a deep-cut fashion reference that fans of red-carpet history picked up on right away.
Paris Hilton kept up her tradition of dressing as Britney Spears. This year she recreated Spears’ famous 2001 MTV Video Music Awards performance of “I’m A Slave 4 U,” snake included.
Kim Kardashian got in early. On October 20 she posted herself dressed as her 13-year-old daughter, North West, who has embraced an edgier punk look as a musician, captioning it “Halloween 2026.”
Two tributes to Dolly Parton
Both Lizzo and Rita Ora chose to honour Dolly Parton, the country icon who died in August at 80, according to NME.
Lizzo recreated one of Parton’s glamorous 1970s looks, with a blonde wig and a sparkling yellow outfit, and shared a personal tribute recalling how Parton had supported her during a difficult point in her career. Ora wore Parton’s signature blonde hair and country style to a Halloween party in New York on Friday night.
The self-aware costume of the year
Lily Allen went self-deprecating. She dressed as a Ticketmaster seating map covered in blue dots, a nod to the phrase “blue dot fever,” which is used to describe unsold seats. The joke landed because of timing: NME notes she recently downsized several venues on the North American leg of her “West End Girl” tour. Her outfit included a white puffer jacket and bodysuit covered in blue dots, plus a thermometer.
Onstage Halloween
Several musicians were on tour and simply brought Halloween to the stage.
- Olivia Rodrigo dressed as Marie Antoinette during her “Unraveled” tour stop in Columbus, Ohio, and also worked a skeleton dress and a zombie ballerina look into the show.
- Wolf Alice paid tribute to the 1987 vampire film The Lost Boys, also in Columbus, with teased hair, leather jackets and fangs.
- Harry Styles revived his “Harryween” tradition at Madison Square Garden, starting the first show as Elvis Presley before changing into the outfit he wore for his 2010 X Factor audition.
Monsters, mermaids and movie characters
Not everyone went for a tribute. Janelle Monáe continued her reputation for elaborate original costumes at her annual “Wondaween” celebrations in Los Angeles, transforming into a human-fish hybrid called The Amazing Phish Boy and also unveiling a prosthetic-heavy character called Mother Creature.
Yungblud went for a classic vampire in a black suit and sunglasses. Elle’s running list also includes Lisa as a mermaid, Halle Bailey as a butterfly, Cara Delevingne as Leeloo from The Fifth Element, Zoë Kravitz as a devil, and Jisoo as Lucyna Kushinada from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
And of course there was Heidi Klum, whose 25th annual Halloween party in New York featured her as a giant severed hand. That one deserves its own story.
Why tribute costumes are having a moment
Costumes of other famous people are easy for fans to recognise and share, which makes them perfect for social media. They also let stars show their own fandom, whether that is a nod to a fashion moment, a musical hero or, in Lily Allen’s case, a wink at their own headlines.
The wrap-up
Halloween 2026 belonged to clever references. Zendaya mined red-carpet history, Lizzo and Rita Ora paid tribute to a country legend, and Lily Allen turned ticket-sales chatter into the most talked-about joke of the weekend. With the costumes packed away, it’s on to the holiday season.
Image: Carved pumpkin as face (Unsplash) by Beth Teutschmann teutschmann via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0
