Since its inception as an ancient Celtic tradition of lighting bonfires and warding off ghosts some 2,000 years ago, Halloween has morphed into a spooky celebration of all things scary. Of course, that means dressing up in costume as anything from your favorite horror movie character or, in Heidi Klum's case, a worm.
For anyone familiar with the supermodel - who was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secret Angel - they'll know she takes Halloween extremely seriously. Don't believe me? I think her prosthetic worm for this year's celebrations speaks for itself.
The 49-year-old holds a Halloween party each year - of which she has held 21 - and, obviously, no expense was spared for her mind-blowing costume this year. Now, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the mom-of-four spoke about the arduous process she had to go through to transform into the wiggly backyard invertebrate - after all, we all wanted to know how and why the idea for the costume was born!
Speaking to the outlet Klum and Mike Marino - the owner of Renaissance Prosthetics, the special effects company Klum has worked with for her Halloween costumes since 2013, including her fantastic Jessica Rabbit look - explained how Klum came up with the idea to turn into a worm.
"I just wanted to be something different and unexpected," the model and businesswoman said, before describing how she wanted her husband, Tom Kaulitz, to be dressed as a fisherman holding a fishing line that was attached to her costume.
Marino, however, was not convinced he could pull off the idea, saying: "I didn't think it was possible. This costume idea was so big and it had to happen in [real time and in] real life, no cuts for take two. I wasn't confident about pulling it off."
Several other artists were involved - including Marino's collaborator Paul Komoda, 3D artist Jerry Constantine, and puppet and creature suit maker Bill Bryan. "Bill glued foam parts together to create the shape and then lined it with spandex and plastic tubes. Then once we got the shape to a point where I liked it, we fabricated with foam latex to create the skin with detail," Marino said.
"Once the suit was built, we zipped Heidi in and hid the zipper, then I glued on the facial appliances and painted," he added, before revealing this whole process took four months. Klum then said she began getting into her suit at 11:00AM, not walking down her Halloween red carpet until 11:00PM the same day - a 12 hour application!
"I was so claustrophobic in that costume. It is one thing to add prosthetics to your body - but to be stuck inside the worm body and not really be able to use my arms or feet was not very comfortable. But Halloween is not about comfort," she admitted.
"For me, Halloween is all about transforming and being creative. I am happy that people are appreciating the creativity and effort to create this as well as all the other costumes I did in the past. I couldn't have done it without my team," Klum said.
And as for the cost of the months-long affair? Marino could only reveal: "It costs a lot more than anyone would think."