How Heidi Klum’s Medusa Became a Living Monster

The social media teasers started early on Oct. 31.

Fangs. Green skin. Reptilian contact lenses.

What could Heidi Klum possibly be turning herself into for her annual Halloween party? She's previously dressed as E.T., Princess Fiona and a worm.

This year, she revealed herself as Medusa. Her husband, Tom Kaulitz, accompanied her as a warrior turned to stone from her gaze.

Behind the transformation is Oscar-nominated makeup artist Mike Marino, owner and designer of Prosthetic Renaissance, a company that specializes in practical makeup effects.

Here, Marino explains how the concept came together, and how a 1981 fantasy film served as the primary inspiration for the look.

Heidi often plans her Halloween look nearly a year ahead. When did Medusa first enter the conversation, and what immediately stood out to you about the idea?

I wasn't sure what to do for quite a while, and Heidi and I kept discussing ideas. I finally suggested Medusa because I've been wanting to create Medusa for years, but the time was never right.

We agreed it would be the perfect idea for this year. I told Heidi it had to be really scary and weird and more like the character from Clash of the Titans, not the remake that they did, which was a CG thing that fans didn't really like.

The Medusa from the 1981 film, people love that kind of a nostalgic monster. It was a stop-motion puppet created by Ray Harryhausen, and fans loved it, so I said we needed to go in that direction and do an updated take on that.

Heidi was all for it, so we started planning. I said Tom should be a Greek soldier that is turned to stone because the legend says when Medusa looks at you with her eyes, you turn to stone. Heidi and Tom loved it.

Usually, it's my idea, her idea, both of us thinking together because we collaborate really well.

When you first began to discuss Medusa, what emotional tone or presence did you want this version of her to carry?

We wanted the tone to be scary and intimidating and beautiful all at the same time.

Heidi often pairs her look with Tom’s in a shared visual story. How did Tom’s look factor into the overall storytelling?

I looked at classical sculpture.

In particular, I studied ancient Greek beards and how they were sculpted. I could have sculpted it more modern or in a different style, but I specifically sculpted the beard to look as if it was made in ancient Greece.

I tried to be really authentic with how he was represented.

What aspect of Heidi’s look proved to be the most challenging to execute, and how did you and your team solve for it?

The whole thing was challenging. Creating the face is always a challenge, making it as drastic as possible while maintaining the movement and authenticity.

Making the teeth and the tongue. Having the wrinkles not just look like an old person but more like someone with scales. So, scales were incorporated into all the wrinkles.

I didn't want her legs to show anywhere, and I wanted to create an "S" shape with her body. We decided it was best to put a zipper connecting the tail to the standing part of the costume for ease of movement. We put wheels on the bottom of the tail so she could slide around.

The moving snakes were a huge challenge as well, and coordinating how the headpiece would connect. There were so many multiple different engineering problems to solve. It wasn't just about manufacturing pieces and getting it all to work. It was a huge undertaking and challenge to execute.

Your work often involves working with directors who may have a specific vision for how a character should appear. How does your creative process change when working with Heidi?

Collaborating with Heidi is always fun. Sometimes, working on a film, you have a whole committee of people who have ideas but they are not really great, and, as the designer, I have to navigate what's best in order to pull off a pure design.

Heidi is just enthusiastic about the whole thing, and she really wants to do it and she doesn't have any artistic critiques. She just trusts us, and that's really important in the equation.

For the Batman film, when I created the Penguin character, Matt Reeves trusted me, and I did what I thought would be best for the film. That's when the best work comes out.

Penguin and Medusa are really, really extra cool and look the way they do because there isn't an art director commenting on how I should do my work. So working with Heidi is exceptional in that way.

She just wants to have fun, and she wants to wear costumes that showcase our art. She's like a walking gallery.