No costume? No problem: 15 pop culture moments that won 2026

What do a Japanese macaque, Homer's Odyssey, and a row of Norwegian football fans have in common? Against all odds, they're among 2026's most viable Halloween costumes.

There are years that pass quietly, and then there is 2026. Taylor Swift got married. Miranda Priestly returned to Runway. Norway went to the World Cup and collectively decided to take up rowing. The internet became emotionally dependent on a baby monkey and his IKEA orangutan. Somewhere in between, Bad Bunny conquered the Super Bowl, Miley Cyrus put the Hannah wig back on, and we became a little too invested in a fruit-based saga debuting on TikTok.

Related: 12 Scandi horror novels to get you in the mood for Halloween

The upside of all this? Halloween has never looked better. Forget sexy nurse, generic witch or, heaven forbid, cat ears. This year, your costume should come with lore. Below, we revisit the 15 moments that defined 2026 – and explain how to wear them.

After three years of touchdowns, friendship bracelets, and unprecedented NFL coverage among people who previously thought a tight end was a pair of trousers, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce finally married on July 3rd. The venue? Madison Square Garden. The clothes? His-and-hers Dior by Jonathan Anderson. The officiant? Adam Sandler – because apparently even Taylor Swift's wedding needed a plot twist.

Related: 7 spine-chilling series to watch this Halloween

For Halloween: Slip into something white, paint on a sharp red lip, and pile on enough diamonds to require their own security detail. Bringing a Travis is optional; bringing a football is not.

When Dolly Parton died at 80 on August 25th, the world lost one of its rare, genuinely universally adored stars. Musicians, actors and fans paid tribute to seven decades of rhinestones, songwriting, sky-high hair, and an even bigger heart. Beyoncé and Taylor Swift were amongst those remembering the woman who somehow made country, camp, and philanthropy look like natural bedfellows.

For Halloween: Pile on the biggest blonde wig you can physically fit through a doorway, rhinestones, cowboy boots, and enough décolletage to make your HR department nervous. As Dolly herself proved, more is more.

The Super Bowl may technically involve American football, but on the 8th of February, it belonged to Bad Bunny. Benito turned the halftime show into a celebration of Puerto Rican culture, performing mostly in Spanish while wearing custom cream Zara – including that now instantly recognisable '64' jersey. High street at the Super Bowl? In this economy, we salute him.

For Halloween: Cream shirt, tie, chinos and a DIY '64' jersey. Add a microphone and someone dressed as a sugarcane plant, and congratulations: you have also found your couples costume.

Erling Haaland went to the World Cup a footballer and returned a full-blown internet sensation. There were lookalike competitions, Channing Tatum in a peroxide wig, bizarre AI-generated Haalands, and enough screenshots of his wonderfully unpolished Snapchat to sustain Norway through winter. Then, to top it all off, he stepped off the team plane, a chic tote in one hand, a taxidermied gin-drinking raccoon in the other. Culture had peaked.

For Halloween: Norway football shirt, peroxide ponytail slicked back with a Kineki hairband, tote, and fake raccoon (we do not recommend carrying a real one). If anyone asks why, simply answer: "Haaland."

If you don't fancy dressing as the above Norwegian, can we suggest several hundred others? After waiting 28 years to return to the men's World Cup, Norway's supporters marked the occasion with the Viking Row: sitting in a formation and rocking back and forth in unison, accompanied by a drumbeat and cries of "ROW!" The celebration quickly escaped the stadium and became one of the tournament's most delightfully Scandinavian viral moments.

Related: From the stands to Times Square: A Norwegian photographer captures the World Cup fever

For Halloween: Norwegian football shirts and as many friends as you can convince to participate. Sit in a line, start rowing, and watch everyone else slowly move away from you. No boat (or explanation) required.

The internet's most beloved male of 2026 was not Jacob Elordi. It was Punch, a baby Japanese macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo. Rejected by his mother and struggling to join the troop, Punch found comfort in dragging around an Ikea orangutan plushie. In February, the videos went global, and suddenly millions of strangers were emotionally invested in one tiny monkey making friends.

For Halloween: Monkey ears, brown faux fur, and, of course, an Ikea orangutan tucked permanently under one arm. Warning: people may hug you. Frankly, Punch deserves it.

Twenty years after Miranda Priestly first pursed her lips at Andy Sachs, The Devil Wears Prada 2 arrived in cinemas, reuniting Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci. Suddenly, a generation raised on "Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking" was back at Runway, older, supposedly wiser, and still deeply afraid of a white bob and a pair of sunglasses.

Related: 62 thoughts I had while watching 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'

For Halloween: White bob. Black sunglasses. Immaculate coat. One handbag large enough to contain everyone else's self-esteem. Spend the evening looking thoroughly disappointed at what people are wearing. That's all.

Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights landed just before Valentine's Day, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as literature's favourite argument against healthy communication. The moors got sexier, the costumes got more decadent, and Emily Brontë found herself dragged, once again, into discourse. With Charli xcx involved in the music, even yearning received a 2026 update.

For Halloween: Corset, windswept hair, muddy hem, and the expression of one who has just spent three hours staring across a Yorkshire moor. Bring an emotionally unavailable man as your accessory.

Nearly three decades after the original, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman returned as Sally and Gillian Owens in Practical Magic 2. The September sequel even rebuilt the Owens house – apple trees and all – proving that sometimes, progress can involve simply giving women beautiful kitchens, generational trauma and access to witchcraft.

Related: How Danish director Susanne Bier managed to keep us spellbound with Practical Magic 2

For Halloween: Slip into velvet, pile on the silver jewellery, and paint your nails a suitably sinister shade of oxblood. Finish with rose-gold waves, a just-kissed pink lip, and the air of a woman who knows exactly what's in the midnight margaritas. Avoid ex-boyfriends. Especially dead ones.

If 2026 proved anything, it’s that Zara Larsson has never met a dress code she couldn’t make significantly smaller. The Midnight Sun era cemented her particular brand of Scandinavian pop-star maximalism: peroxide lengths, microscopic hemlines, body glitter, bronzed skin and the sort of Y2K sexiness that suggests Ibiza, even when you’re technically in Stockholm in February. Less one specific outfit than an entire state of mind, Zara’s aesthetic was everywhere this year.

Related: Zara Larsson's custom Rotate look for Roskilde took more than 300 hours to create – an exclusive look at the making

For Halloween: Think tiny, sparkly and extremely blonde. Add a deep tan, body glitter, enormous hair and something that could generously be described as a skirt. The sun may set in October; Zara’s does not.

Christopher Nolan apparently looked at Homer's approximately 2,800-year-old epic and thought: needs more IMAX. The Odyssey arrived in July with Matt Damon as Odysseus and a cast including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, and Charlize Theron. In other words, half of Hollywood spent the summer in Ancient Greece, while the rest of us spent it trying to remember what a cyclops had to do with anything.

For Halloween: Drape yourself in something suitably Grecian, slip into gold sandals, and adorn yourself with enough gold to attract the attention of Mount Olympus. Add luminous skin, windswept hair, and a minor god complex. Turn up to the party and then refuse to leave for ten years.

Just when you thought AI slop could skim no lower, it produced television. Fruit Love Island, an AI-generated TikTok dating saga starring anthropomorphic fruit, went mega-viral in March, proving that apparently what reality television had been missing all along was bananas with romantic problems.

For Halloween: Choose your fighter – banana, cherry, apple, pineapple – add swimwear, and behave as though your fruit bowl has just received a text.

Twenty years after a blonde wig somehow gave Miley Stewart plausible deniability, Hannah Montana came home. Disney marked the anniversary with a special featuring Miley Cyrus, old sets, archival footage, and the return of that famous blonde hair. Cyrus even reunited with familiar faces and revisited the music and scene transitions that captured an entire generation.

For Halloween: Blonde wig with a blunt fringe, headset microphone, sequins, and peak Disney Channel layering. For the full transformation, remove the wig halfway through the party and act shocked when nobody knew it was you.

For 2026, the Met Gala posed a question fashion people have been answering for decades: is fashion art? The exhibition was Costume Art; the dress code was "Fashion is Art"; and the Met steps promptly became a very glamorous gallery. Gracie Abrams went as Klimt's Woman in Gold, Rachel Zegler channelled The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, while artist Amy Sherald wore a Thom Browne look inspired by her own painting. Talk about becoming your own work.

For Halloween: Pick your favourite painting and wear it. Klimt? Gold everything. Mondrian? Colour-blocked squares. The Scream? Conveniently, that happens to be your face when someone asks what your costume is for the fifth time. Or, take our inspiration below and transform yourself into Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring.

Some films you watch, others you make your entire personality for several weeks. Obsession fell firmly into the latter camp. The 2026 film became one of the year's most talked-about releases, inspiring exactly the sort of fixation it promised – not least around Bear and Nikki. Twisted, addictive, and increasingly difficult to avoid on the group chat, Obsession more than earned its name.

For Halloween: Take your cues from Nikki and recreate one of her looks from the film– perhaps that tiger-print Princess Polly top, or beige jumper, 'B' necklace included. Better year, bring along your own Bear for the evening, though perhaps leave the actual obsessive behaviour at home.