Halloween Inspiration from the S/S 2010 Runway shows

It's nearly my favorite holiday, Halloween! In the past few years I've tried to steer away from the stereotypical "sexy ______" or "slutty ________" costumes in favor of costumes that are a little more creative, and hopefully, more in the "spooky" Halloween spirit. What I do love about Halloween is that its an excuse to wear just about ANYTHING and get away with it. I have a lot of stuff in my apartment that I would love to wear every day but would get me nothing but weird looks and comments (especially my hats from the 30's!). So I usually take the opportunity to go ALL OUT and over the top. In a way, this is a lot like what designers do on the runway, its their one opportunity to present their creative vision, though much of the time its not looks that their customers will ever wear top-to-toe. In that spirit, let's get creative and take a look at some of the runway shows for inspiration for Halloween costumes this year (most images courtesy of nymag.com).

Yohji Yamamoto Haute Zombie

Yohji sent a parade of zombies down the runway for S/S 2010, and these looks are some great inspiration for zombie costumes for Halloween. All you need for this look is the hair and makeup, and then some slick, tailored clothes to hack up a bit (might wanna try the thrift store and find some nice tailored menswear instead of hacking up anything too expensive!). Tada, Haute Zombie!

Alexander McQueen Futuristic Alien/Sea Creature

By far one of the weirder shows this season (we'd expect nothing less), McQueen's theatric show is great inspiration for a futuristic, alien-inspired costume. Metallic fabrics, tin foil, cellophane, and wire should help you create a look inspired by this show. The wire should also help in making one of these hairstyles!

Anne Demeulemeester Bondage Gimp

S&M looks are always popular for Halloween (just ask my friend Lou who works in a latex shop, they get very busy this time of year!), but you can totally do it with some style a la Ms. Demeulemeester. Belts, chains, zips, leather, latex... just make it look scary not skanky, please!

Comme Des Garcons Scary Clown

Nothing is scarier than a clown, right? With the right wig and a mix of bright colors, clown make-up, and a creepy smile, you'll be scaring all the fashionistas on your block.

Gareth Pugh Swamp Thing

You HAVE to look at these close up to appreciate the make up but this show was super creepy! These looks at the end screamed "swamp thing" to me. You're gonna need to do some crazy shredding to get this look, and many yards of jersey.

Givenchy Goth Conehead

I always end up seeing some coneheads on Halloween, I'm not quite sure why, such an old movie and not particularly scary but I guess its an easy costume to do. But how about let's spook it up a little bit and be Givenchy Goth Coneheads? Mostly the same, except goth-er. That's more like it!

Marc Jacobs Ghost/Ice Princess

You don't need to be in black to be scary, as Marc Jacobs showed us this spring. These eerie looks were inspired by Kabuki girls, but I think they kinda look like ice princesses or ghosts! You don't need to hide under a sheet to be a ghost, just a flowy chiffon white or ice blue dress and some white face make up. YES!

Charlie Le Mindu Cousin It

Addams Family members are always popular on Halloween, and make a great group costume. Coustin It, the overly hairy member of the Addams extended family, is a relatively easy costume to do, but why not take it to the next level a la Charlie Le Mindu and rock those hair extensions EVERYWHERE?

Giles Deacon Spider-Woman

Finally, if you're not going to do a full-on costume, why not just embrace some Halloween-inspired prints? Spiders, bats, ghosts, witches, any of these motifs done in a creative way is a good effort.