Trending Costumes of 2016

By Shrey Sankalp

Most Popular Costumes to Look Out for This Season

Ah, Halloween season is nearly upon us.

As you’re scrambling to stock up on candy, decorations and costumes before they sell out, I’m sure you’re getting stretched just *that* much.

How about I help you out a little?

Choosing a costume sure isn’t easy (I’ve had to choose enough to testify to that), so I figured I’d put together a quick list for general reference.

Here you can find out about 2016's trending costumes that can be expected to dominate Halloween, but if you’re looking for a more offbeat costume, or a superhero costume to boot, I’ve got a list for that too.

Now that we’ve gotten the formalities out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff!

1. Harry Potter Costumes

The Harry Potter fever isn’t even close to over. The last book and the last film may have come aeons ago, but the love never died, and with the approaching spinoffs and the newest book, it’s stronger than ever.

And you will see that on Halloween.

Harry Potter costumes have always been popular (especially the Death Eater costumes, Voldemort costume and the Harry Potter costume) so I don’t expect that to change this year.

We really should bow down to the production team of the franchise.

2. Armored Batman Costume

I’m not going to stir up the whole Batman v. Superman debate again, but I’m going to say that for everything the film did wrong, it got the aesthetics and he costumes very, very right.

The standard Batman costume is gleefully comic book accurate (and will be seen dime a dozen) but the armored costume takes the cake.

It’s big, it’s comicbooky, and it looks absolutely stupendous.

Expect to see loads of Batmen patrolling the streets looking to take down Supermen this year.

3. Stormtrooper Costumes

George Lucas ensured Star Wars costumes left its mark on the world aesthetically, and with how we immediately think of Darth Vader and Stormtroopers when we think of the films, I’d say he succeeded.

There’s something so simple, yet attractive about a Stormtrooper costume.

I recently talked about how Stormtroopers are the thread of continuity holding the franchise together, and when you think about it, you’ll know.

Stormtroopers undergo a costume change in every movie by this point, but despite all the redesigns, their costumes always stay true to their roots, and I can’t emphasize its importance enough.

4. Roman and Greek Costumes

Look, we all know we can’t get enough of history.

We constantly feel the urge to experience times past, and I think that’s the reason historical costumes (especially the Greek and Roman costumes) are so popular.

The movie buffs are moved to buy these costumes thanks to the Gladiators and the Hail, Caesar!s of the industry while literature makes sure the literary types live out their fantasies.

There’s also the not inconsiderable matter of various theatrical productions based on history needing these costumes, and when you add all these factors together, you end up with two very popular costume categories, my friend.

5. Harley Quinn Costumes

This one is admittedly a bit of a wild card, but with Harley Quinn involved, that’s hardly a surprise.

For all the trashing Suicide Squad faced when it came out, Margot Robbie seemed immune to it.

Her version of Harley Quinn proved despite the costume changes, and I’m inclined to believe fans will pick up this version of the costume.

But then again, it’s possible most purists stick with Harley’s original jester costume or go with the Arkham costumes.

Like I said, it’s hard to pin down which costume will prove to be the most popular, but Harley Quinn has been a strong presence on Halloween, so maybe we’ll see enough of all Harley costumes.

6. Halloween Horror Costumes

Are you even surprised? Nah, I didn’t think so.

Halloween is something associated with horror, and it always has been.

No matter how much we try and dilute it with cutesy costumes from a children’s show, or those macho superhero costumes or any other random costume, the core will always be horror, and there will always be hordes of people dressed in the scariest Halloween costumes possible ready to scare the daylights (even at night time) out of you.

Expect tons of zombie costumes and ghost costumes this year, and while you’re at it, get some of your own!

Noteworthy Options

I could be wrong about this, but this year’s end sees the release of Assassin’s Creed, and the game has its fair share of fans, so it’s possible we see loads of Templars and Assassins costumes this year.

Next year sees the release of Power Rangers (2017) and that’s been a hit franchise as well, so maybe nostalgia will sell Power Ranges costumes too.