How brands can do Halloween the right way (because we’re so over fake cobwebs & pumpkins!)

It’s officially October, which means it’s my season.

And unfortunately, I’m not talking about pumpkin spice and your “perfect fall lip shade,” (southern hemisphere, sorry darling). I won’t be offering any Autumnal strategies. I’m talking about the only season that truly matters: spooky season.

Listen, Halloween is my Roman Empire. There is nothing I love more than this holiday.

But while I live for cobwebs and candlelight, there’s one thing I can’t get behind, and it’s the way brands insist on flattening Halloween into Spirit Halloween clichés. Plastic gravestones. Polyester witches’ capes. Jack-o’-lantern emojis slapped onto anything that moves. Why do we resort to this every year? It’s tacky and it’s time to move on.

I believe Halloween doesn’t have to be so horrifically cheapened. It’s one of the few holidays that already sits at the intersection of myth, ritual, and transformation, themes that audiences (especially Gen Z) are obsessed with right now.

People now more than ever crave meaning, storytelling, and aesthetics that actually feel intentional, not like something ripped right off Pinterest and slapped on a campaign bs.

I’ve already seen some of my favourite creators, like Magdelene Fawn and Wilder Fleur, reimagine Halloween through an esoteric and elevated lens. Think fashion editorials with a witchy undertone. Modern Persephone energy. Costume as couture.

So why are brands still defaulting to rubber spiders when they could be conjuring mood and mystery instead?

This basically means Halloween is an untapped brand playground.

Why? Because dark and evil aside, Halloween is about play. Transformation. Experimentation. Fear, desire, and fantasy all tangled together. It’s camp, sure. But it’s also ritualistic and deeply human. Every culture has some version of a festival of the dead, of seasonal transition, of flirting with the unknown.

That’s a pretty rich creative territory to play in, if you look past the bargain-bin props.

So, how can brands and creators elevate Halloween?

Lean into ritual.

Instead of pumpkin spice everything, think tarot spreads, astrology tie-ins, moonlit beauty rituals. A skincare brand could drop a “ritual kit” that feels mystical instead of gimmicky. A bar could host a cocktail night themed around the four elements. Give people an experience that feels more like modern folklore.

Costume, but couture. 

Girl, put downnnn the polyester catsuit. You’re better than that. As I said earlier, creators are already proving this with content that elevates Halloween dressing into something editorial. Brands could partner with stylists, makeup artists and creators to produce inspiration that feels aspirational, not ironic. Less Harley Quinn, more Harley Quinn-meets-Vivienne Westwood. And oooo I think I just gave myself an idea.

Tell deeper stories. 

Halloween isn’t just American suburbia with candy corn. It’s Samhain, Día de los Muertos, Obon, All Hallows’ Eve. There are rich cultural traditions around death, rebirth, and ritual that brands can highlight respectfully, showing audiences that Halloween isn’t just about jump scares but about connection and continuity.

Build mood-driven experiences. 

Skip the neon cobwebs and go full sensory. Candlelit pop-ups, velvet-draped launch parties, immersive gothic playlists. Even a simple October rebrand into a more gothic aesthetic: smoke, candlelight, shadows and deep reds would be a mood-shift away from cartoon pumpkins.

Sustainable, not disposable. 

This is a huge one for me. Halloween is notorious for waste (cheap costumes worn once, endless plastic). A smart brand could flip that narrative: offer upcycled costume ideas, heirloom-quality décor, or timeless “spooky chic” staples people want to keep year after year. Imagine a thrift store curating costumes with their pieces. That’s the vibe.

Please, for the love of god, let go of the tacky tropes.

Halloween can and should be timeless, mysterious, romantic, even a little philosophical. For brands and creators who are brave enough to look beyond the costume aisle, Halloween is an excuse to experiment, enchant, and anchor themselves in something far richer than jump scares.

To be tacky and temporary, or eternally elevated? The choice is yours. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer