Heidi Klum’s worm costume cost ‘much more than anyone would think’

As it turns out, turning into a giant worm for Halloween isn’t all about the budget.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Heidi Klum and Mike Marino, owner of Prosthetic Renaissance, the special effects company that created her fantastic costume, shed light on the complexities of transforming into a large invertebrate.

It took four months of planning, 12 hours of application and, according to Marino, “cost a lot more than you might think.”

“We started at 11 in the morning and probably hit the carpet around 11 p.m.,” Klum said of appearing in a “claustrophobic” full-body costume.

When Klum first described the vision to Marino, he told THR, his initial reaction was that he didn’t think it was possible.

“I wasn’t sure I could do it,” he said.

But Klum insisted on going further, eventually leading to the masterpiece (or monstrosity, depending on how you look at it) that sent social media into a tailspin. Klum, unable to move except hopping — or at one point writhing on the ground — was accompanied to the New York party by her husband Tom Kaulitz, who was dressed as the fisherman who hooked her.

Klum said she started thinking about her costume many months ago after she was forced to cancel her annual Halloween party two years in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he wanted to come back this year with something “different and unexpected.”

The final product required 3D scans of Klum’s body and face. A foam suit lined with spandex and plastic tubing was covered with foam latex to create an extremely raw but real skin. Once Klum was in the suit, the face and “facial apparatus” were glued and painted.

As for the other burning question many viewers had: Klum said she had no choice but to go to the bathroom while dressed, so she “made sure she didn’t drink anything hours before dress”. He later took off his costume to spend the night in the sparkly t-shirt he wore underneath, but kept his worm face intact.