Grab your broomsticks, witches! It’s the second annual Loose x Darling Halloween collaboration — and we’ve decided to take the high fashion route.
With looks from Moschino, Vivienne Westwood, and more, we've gathered our favourite horror-inspired fashion collections to give you all the gorey details. From their eeriest ensembles to guides on emulating them for a hauntingly chic costume, this is the ultimate fashion lover's guide to Halloween on the runway.
Dior Couture Spring/Summer 2006
Emily Duff — Darling Magazine
Dior's Spring/Summer 2006 collection delved into the haunting and blood-stained pages of the French Revolution.
Delving into the dark history of its home country, the French fashion house’s collection features garments reminiscent of the 18th-century aristocracy and revolutionaries.
Key Look: A standout piece was a crimson, intricately detailed gown, which perfectly captured the essence of this collection. With an asymmetric skirt, cinched waist, and single ruffled sleeve, it blended the elegance of the aristocracy with the fierce spirit of the revolutionaries.
Emulate for Halloween: To embody this collection for Halloween, there are some key elements you can incorporate to be easily recognisable — and that you probably already have in your wardrobe.
Start with a simple floor length, red gown. The collection contains multiple hues so the shade choice is up to you: wine red, blood red, you pick!
Add a corset to achieve the cinched waist look, layer mesh materials and stick to brown leather accessories including belts, knee-high boots and gloves. Don’t forget a chunky crucifix necklace too!
Then finish the look by simply smearing yourself in faux blood stains by destroying your least favourite red lipstick. If you’re truly dedicated, don’t forget to tease your hair too — no need for perfection, this can take the form of Marie Antoinette height or messy bedhead.
Mugler Spring 1997 Couture
Lucy Eaton — Loose Magazine
Mugler’s Spring 1997 Couture collection tells the story of a butterfly’s metamorphosis, but the big hats and flowing fabrics also scream witch. Think the fashionable witches from American Horror Story: Coven, only with less voodoo and more Alien Eau de Parfum.
The collection added details to the looks with fishnet, lace, fringe, sequins and more, creating a haunting yet stylish take on witchy fashion. Plus, this plethora of accessories makes this collection a great source of costume inspiration for any wannabe witches.
Key Look: My personal favourite is Look 23; the model’s face is covered by a mesh hat, and her sheer, black dress is accessorised with sheer opera gloves, a lace choker, and knee-high mesh boots. Simple yet stunning, this vampy take on a witch is great inspo for anyone wanting to use clothes they already have to transform into a witch this Halloween.
Emulate for Halloween: Take your favourite black dress and dig out your favourite black accessories, or have a look in the shops for your finishing details. I’d recommend finding accessories with the same fabric as your dress, or something complimentary — that way, you’ll have a cohesive look similar to the Mugler collection. If you fell victim this year to the fabric corsage choker trend, you can add this as your necklace, or even go to your local arts and crafts shop to find some lace ribbon, and create a choker yourself, tying a piece of ribbon into a bow. Finish off with a big, black hat, and you’ll be feeling like the Supreme in no time.
Gucci Exquisite Campaign Autumn/Winter 2022
Emily Duff — Darling Magazine
Gucci's Autumn/Winter 2022 collection took inspiration from an array of Stanley Kubrick's iconic films. Notable Halloween movie influences, including The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut, and A Clockwork Orange, made its inclusion on my list a no-brainer.
Making fashion history, its accompanying campaign recreated many iconic images from Kubric’s filmography, making waves on social media at the time. With pieces showcased a unique blend of dark romance and surrealism, Gucci stayed true to the director's distinctive aesthetic.
Key Look: A standout look included a black mesh top with lace applique topped by a supersized buckle belt. Brought to life through Kubrick’s signature colours, the outfit was a mismatched collection made up of an attention grabbing purple hat, orange knee-high boots and a mid-length blue skirt.
Emulate for Halloween: To replicate this collection for Halloween, there’s two polar ways you can go: outer space or 70s business.
First, think oversized office wear. But to make sure it’s not confused for an homage to recent Miu Miu looks ensure you stick to a warm palette of browns and jewel tones of blue and green - no grey in sight and put some pants on please!
If you opt for any faux fur coat, they’re easy to find in your local vintage store, and it’s an instant Gucci nod.
Either pair it with a metallic bodysuit or jumpsuit, reminiscent of space-age sci-fi, or go for a simple shirt with a supersized chunky belt and a skirt that comes just below your knee. Finishing touches include retro sunglasses and large luggage or stack up futuristic silver jewellery for an out-of-this-world Halloween outfit.
Vivienne Westwood Fall/Winter 1981 & Spring/Summer 1998
Lucy Eaton — Loose Magazine
Anyone who knows me knows Vivienne Westwood is my favourite designer, and so many of her collections can be interpreted as fabulous Halloween costume inspo. Pirates are always a popular Halloween costume, so why not take it the high fashion route by looking at Westwood’s pirate collections?
Vivienne Westwood famously had a series of eras, long before Taylor Swift made it cool. Her ‘Portrait’ collection from the early 90s rebirthed the corset trend a couple of years ago (alongside the 2020 classic, Westwood’s pearl choker), but her very first collection took inspiration from pirates. Westwood combined canary yellows, tomato oranges, and cobalt blues with pirate hats, and pieces vaguely resembling something a stereotypical pirate would wear. Whilst this is a great source of inspo, Westwood’s 1998 collection ‘Tied to the Mast’ also returned to the pirate imagery, however this time, the looks were more if Marie Antoinette became a pirate. Whatever your preference, both collections can be great inspiration for your Halloween look.
Key Look: Her debut collection consisted of bright colours mixed with the traditional pirate flair, but my favourite look pairs green-and-white striped bloomers with a navy cropped blazer, resembling a sailor’s uniform jacket. The look is finished off with a tan-coloured pirate hat.
From the ‘98 collection, I love Westwood’s take on a pirate bride. The model wears a sequined gown, with Westwood’s signature corseted waist, and a black eye patch over one eye.
Emulate for Halloween: There are two routes to this — if you love a pinstriped trouser moment, pair these with a flowing blouse, and add a black vest on top, or, wear the trousers with a cropped blazer. Finish off with pointed, heeled boots and a pirate’s hat. Or, if you want to go more glam, find your favourite sequined dress, or even your favourite corset, and pair these with a pirate’s eye patch.
Moschino Resort 2020
Emily Duff — Darling Magazine
Moschino's Resort 2020 collection was an unusual summer fashion homage to classic horror films. The runway was a spectacle of gothic glam, featuring designs inspired by vampires, werewolves, and other creatures of the night.
Seamlessly blending the spooky and the stylish, the collection brought Zoë Kravitz’s 2018 costume to mind, a staple on every fashion girl’s Halloween Pinterest board and a look she aptly titled "Mornings Suck Vampire."
Key Look: A striking ensemble featured in the collection paid respect to classic adventure movie, King Kong. Worn with a Marilyn Monroe style blonde bob and 2016 style white platform heels, the focal white seemingly simply white dress was topped with a huge ape hand that cinched the waist and draped the left shoulder.
Emulate for Halloween: To channel this look for Halloween, rip up a pair of tights for your base, spray paint an Anarchy symbol on an extra oversized blue striped shirt and top with a simple beige trench.
The office was already scary, but to take this formal look from drab to demonic by sticking on some tacky devil horns and bat-shaped sunnies a la Moschino.
Alternatively, some star and moon print pyjamas could do the trick. Again, brought to October with the addition of a black witch’s hat plus extra details including a chunky gold necklace and some midnight black lipstick.
LeMÁine
Lucy Eaton — Loose Magazine
This isn’t really costume inspo, but we can’t talk about horror-inspired fashion without mentioning LeMÁine. The London-based designer describes their work as ‘clothes that look like gore,’ using their own unique technique to create pieces resembling bloody veins. You may have seen their dresses on the likes of Julia Fox and Kim Petras, and whilst this may be too tricky to replicate this Halloween, we can still admire the craftmanship.
Key Look: My favourite look is the maxi dress they made for Julia Fox, for her ES Magazine cover. LeMÁine uses their latex-based technique to create a texture resembling bloody flesh, with speckles of black on the edges to create a look they describe as ‘burnt blood.’ The look is hauntingly stunning, and Julia Fox’s take also includes opera gloves with a red bead fringe, creating the illusion of dripping blood. I absolutely love this look, as it screams how uniquely creative this brand is, and how interesting fashion can be when designers have the freedom to experiment.
Written & edited by
Lucy Eaton (@llucyeaton on IG)
& Emily Duff (@emily.j.d on IG)