Supermodel and television host Heidi Klum celebrated the 25th anniversary of her signature Halloween celebration on Saturday night in New York, arriving disguised as an enormous, bloodied replica of her severed left hand.
Klum stepped out for the gathering at the Cathédrale Restaurant at the Moxy East Village in Manhattan, emerging from a vehicle marked with red warning signs, the New York Post reported. Clad in an extensive prosthetic build that obscured nearly her entire body, only the host’s eyes and mouth remained visible as red fluids dripped down her chin. Gory tendons and severed ligaments hung from the wrist area above her head, while assistants wearing yellow, blood-spattered hazmat suits guided her into the venue.
At one point on the red carpet, a team member used a syringe to squirt hydration into Klum’s mouth, according to the Daily Mail. Inside the structure, Klum concealed her legs within the hand’s middle and ring fingers while placing one arm into the thumb.
Months of prosthetic engineering
The intricate design was crafted over roughly four months by special-effects artist Mike Marino and his studio, Prosthetic Renaissance, the Daily Mail reported. Klum told reporters that slipping into the apparatus required between five and six hours on Saturday, following several days of teaser posts showing gory materials on her social media channels.
Klum explained that the concept struck her the previous year when studying her own body. “I looked at my hand and I thought, ‘Hey, I think I could fit my body in this somehow,'” Klum said, according to the Associated Press. Carrying the finished piece posed a significant physical task. “Hands down, the hardest thing is carrying it,” Klum noted to the AP. “It’s quite heavy.”
The design incorporated accurate recreations of Klum’s palm lines, veins, long red fingernails, and personal jewelry, including copies of her wedding band and engagement ring. The creation also featured an exact replica of the tattoo bearing the name of her husband, musician Tom Kaulitz, on the ring finger.
A missing partner and a crowded red carpet
Kaulitz, who has frequently collaborated with Klum on matched costumes, was absent from the festivities due to tour commitments with his rock group Tokio Hotel in Germany, Just Jared reported. Klum told Entertainment Tonight that although he could not make the party, “he’s always with me” through the jewelry and ink simulated on the costume.
Later in the evening, Klum stripped away the exterior shell of the hand to reveal an alternate look that retained her facial prosthetics and large finger-like leg coverings, accented by a blonde wig, according to the Daily Mail.
Klum was accompanied by three of her children: Leni, who dressed as Miss Piggy; Johan, who appeared as a zombie inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”; and Lou, who donned a purple superhero ensemble as Starfire, the Daily Mail reported. Other attendees included Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka as the twin sisters from “The Shining,” and musician Questlove in a San Francisco 49ers jersey.
Following the anniversary party, Klum told Entertainment Tonight that she plans to travel overseas to join Kaulitz on the road, leaving fans to wonder how she will try to outdo 25 years of elaborate transformations when next year’s holiday arrives.
