This was published 5 months ago
Demon hunters, Wednesday Addams: The costumes everyone will be wearing this Halloween
The spooky season has taken hold in Australia. Despite once being considered an “American holiday”, Halloween will be celebrated by one in five Australian adults this year, according to the Australian Retailers Association. And an estimated $500 million will be shelled out on Halloween costumes, decorations and confectionaries across the country – 11 per cent more than last year.
About 43 per cent of that budget will be spent on costumes, from skeletons to sexy nurses. But as popular as the classics are, an increasing number of Australians are opting for costumes that say something about themselves, whether that’s their favourite show or a meme they can’t stop quoting.
“For many, it’s not just about dressing up. It’s about creating a moment, a memory or a character that feels cinematic,” says Alicia Slater, co-owner of Little Shop of Horrors Costumery in Mornington, south-east of Melbourne.
Slater says Wednesday Addams has been a popular choice following the recent second season of the TV series Wednesday, and Pennywise costumes have already sold out ahead of the It prequel series Welcome to Derry. The popular Melbourne run of The Beetlejuice Musical has also inspired an influx in Lydia Deetz and Beetlejuice requests.
It’s similar in Sydney, where Netflix sensation K-Pop Demon Hunters dominates costume wish-lists. Sydney Party Decorations manager Neo Cui says they’ve sold out of Demon Hunters costumes multiple times, and are now restocking weekly.
“Halloween has evolved into one of the biggest annual carnival-style celebrations,” Cui says. “It’s become about self-expression ... not just about being scary.”
The fear-factor hasn’t vanished, though. Belinda Marsh, director of Sydney’s Fancy That Costumes and Balloons, says spooky costumes will always be a staple, including Ghostface, Freddy Krueger and The Exorcism’s Regan.
“Any costume can be turned into a scary Halloween costume. Add some special FX make-up, and you’ve zombified whatever it was ... One of my favourites was a young boy last year who went as a ‘Boo-nana’ – our giant banana costume plus scary make-up,” Marsh says.
Her store has also sold many Donald Trump MAGA hats this year. Though Trump-related costumes slowed after he reclaimed the US presidency, Marsh says mocking the MAGA phenomenon now could make it “a little less heavy” for some.
Bald caps have also become a bestseller thanks to Pitbull’s recent Australian tour. Beyond this, Marsh says major productions such as Wicked and The Bad Guys, and sentimental favourite The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which had its 50th anniversary this year, have been popular choices.
So, if you’re keen to stand out this Halloween, here are some tips.
Astronaut Katy Perry
Remember when Katy Perry, along with five other women, went on an 11-minute space flight? It was all anyone could complain about in April.
Jeff Bezos’ all-female Blue Origin voyage was hit-and-miss when it came to what it would do for feminism, but that doesn’t mean it can’t make for a brilliant ’stume. Just look at that form-fitting blue spacesuit.
The Coldplay jumbotron
It has presumably been a surreal year for Andy Byron, the former chief executive of tech company Astronomer, who resigned from his post after being caught cosying up to someone who was not his wife on the jumbotron at a Coldplay concert in July.
But one person’s nightmare was the world’s pop-culture catnip. For months, this random CEO’s love life was a regular dinner-table discussion, so why not bring it back for Halloween by dressing up as the very jumbotron screen that brought the story to light?
A labubu
If you haven’t seen a labubu yet, you’re probably living under a rock. Every second person appears to have one of these little monstrosities clipped to their bags, the demonic, toothy smiles taunting whoever is walking behind it.
These are the talk of the town among Gen Z, who feverishly try to snatch up the rare versions before they sell out (they’re almost always sold out) and sniff out the fakes, or “lafufus”.
Chuck on a onesie, paint an ungodly smile on your face, and you’re set.
Chicken jockey
A lethal zombie baby riding a chicken. Yes, that is where popular culture is at right now.
Much to the chagrin of cinema staff, the chicken jockey – a popular meme among Minecraft fans – in A Minecraft Movie invited insane reactions from crowds, including screaming, throwing popcorn and toilet paper, dancing and jumping on friends’ shoulders. One person even brought an actual live chicken.
You can either buy or create your own chicken jockey suit (to be worn alone or with someone else), or dress your dog up as a chicken with a little plush zombie on its back.
The Summer I Turned Pretty love triangle
Seventy million viewers tuned in to watch the final season of this Amazon Prime romance flick within its first 70 days of streaming. There were watching parties around the world, and friendships were lost over debates around who Belly should choose. So yeah, you could say it was a big deal.
When it comes to dressing up as the show for Halloween, I don’t mean dress up as Belly or Jeremiah. That’s boring. I mean dress up as the literal love triangle. Slap a triangle on a white shirt with the printed-out faces of Belly, Jeremiah and Conrad at the end of each point, and call it a day.
A Jet2Holiday
Nothing beats a Jet2Holiday. This may sound familiar if you’ve spent any time on TikTok this year. For the uninitiated, it’s a soundbite from an old ad campaign for British airline Jet2, which people rediscovered and used as the soundtrack for videos about disastrous holidays.
How do you dress up as a meme soundbite, you may ask? I’m not sure, but you can begin by recreating the outfit of the airline’s flight attendants, or go the full-monty and be a Jet2 plane itself.
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