Costume ideas that will make your party entrance as seamless as strolling through the Terminal 3 Smart Gates…
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Thomas The Etihad Rail Engine
The original Thomas might have literary legacy on his side, but the only train anyone here has been talking about over this last year, is Etihad Rail. Like most of the other items on this list, this suggestion is heavy on DIY crafting, so you're going to need Instashop on speed dial. The benefit of this particular theme, is that it really comes alive as a group costume. Going as a family? Dress your youngest as a cursed food and beverage cart. Or a zombie ticket inspector. It really is the best kind of platform for a bit of Hallow's Eve fun.
The Haunted Hybrid Athlete
With not one, but two Hyrox events taking place in the UAE this year, the number of people walking around claiming ownership of the Hybrid Rockstar status makes this outfit entirely culturally relevant. And it's easy to recreate organically too. If you've ever attempted to do 100 wall balls, after eight kilometre-long runs, burpee broad jumps and a bunch of other, fully will power-enabled stations of varying levels of pain threshold defiance, you'll know very well that the hole in your soul and a haunting, undead look in the eye comes entirely naturally. But if you want to cosplay it, a bit of ghoulish makeup, kettlebell-and-chain, and possessed energy gel packets make great ways to accessorise your outfit.
The GRWM Reaper
You've almost certainly already encountered a GRWM Reaper. Especially if you spend any time on TikTok or Instagram. GRWM or 'get ready with me' influencers are at full epidemic level in 2026, applying layers of make-up in cartoonish abandon, rattling their nails on foundation bottles, holding up tubes of mascara like macabre trophies. All we're suggesting is that you take that look one step further, add a black cloak, a ring light tripod to replace the scythe and go out with a half-finished cosmetics routine on your face.
The Dubai Chocolate Monster
You know what they say, you can check out any time you want, pistachio can never leave. Shhh, it works. This global confectionery phenomenon was born, as the name suggests, right here in the UAE. A trend that became a compulsion, that became a viral success. Our suggested take on it, plays with the deliciously ludicrous thought experiment of... 'what if that virality, was a zombie plague virus?' The real fear as always though, is checking the calorie count after you've demolished your third bar.
Entities from the ‘backrooms’ of Dubai Malls
They say that if you wander far enough into one of Dubai's enormous shopping malls, past the last recognisable designer boutique, through a suspiciously quiet corridor and beyond the set of push-to-enter staff-only fire doors, you might accidentally noclip out of reality and into the Backrooms. An endless labyrinth of fluorescent lighting and beige-tiled passageways, where the air smells faintly of discounted candles, and the ambiance is stamped with a subtext limbo that reads 'where did I park my car again?' This is the dominion of the perfume sales ninjas. Honing their craft, preparing their tester strip reflexes, piercing stares and stealthy positioning.
The ‘oh no not another Asian fusion restaurant’
The copy-paste taste phenomenon that quite literally sends shivers down your spine. There's nothing inherently wrong with Asian fusion restaurants, Nikkei is an established crowd-pleaser, but how many restaurants is too many? You can add to the trend by soft-launching your own fusion of Pan Asian cuisine and home-crafted cardboard. Think miniature lanterns, a wearable restaurant facade and a menu offering kimchi butter chicken tacos. It's all about the convoluted culinary journey.
That guy who spams LinkedIn with clearly AI-written slop
What I learned from spending time on LinkedIn this year, is that very few people seem to write their own stuff anymore. And whilst that can often mean improvement in the overall quality of syntax, it leaves the virtual place feeling a bit soulless, a ghost town absent of human creativity. So why not make light of it, with your own giant cardboard profile cut out? Here's Keith, senior investment migrations officer, and he's noticed a really profound similarity between onboarding new UX systems and opening those little 'tear here' ketchup sachets.
The Obsessive Salik Gate
From the team that brought you last year's smash hit 'tenancy rent-renewal increase' costume. You can run, you can take side streets, but ultimately... There is no escape from the Salik Gate. It's Nikki from Obsession, made manifest in full toll-collecting form. Maybe snap the figurative One Wish Willow and combine the two.
Class of 2026. It’s been a bit of a scary year, hasn’t it? Especially for the region. But the wonderful thing about Halloween is that it allows us to poke a hole in darkness with humour and levity. We can throw a sheet over the fearful thing, cut out some eye-holes, and voila – ghost costume. We’re certainly not suggesting, and let us be clear, we’re actually strongly advocating against couples going to gatherings dressed in his ‘n’ hers alert outfits, but there have been some big cultural (less triggering) movements in 2026 ripe for a bit of Halloween parody. These are some of our suggestions for how to stand out (without getting thrown out) at October 31st parties this year.
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