A good and creative costume will only go so far this Halloween. Now instead of just the costume, TikTok users are focusing on its reveal.
The trend follows a simple template: Users appear wearing normal clothes and no makeup under text that reads “costume loading.” A quick transition later, users reveal their extravagant costumes to viewers.
Unlike most trends, which are tied to a specific song, “costume loading” can use virtually any TikTok sound (audio clip).
Oftentimes, users try pairing the costume with a relevant song or sound. Take content creator Kirby J, who paired her “disco” costume with a disco song—”Let’s Groove” by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire. For the first few seconds of the video, she appears wearing pajamas sans makeup, then does a hair flip, instantly swapping her loungewear for a silver mirror-ball-inspired dress.
In another costume-loading video, a couple are dressed up as Fiona and Shrek from the Shrek franchise, accompanied by a sound clip mixing dialogue from the animated movie with Britney Spears’ “Womanizer.”
Many others used popular sounds instead of on-theme songs, coming up with their own creative transitions.
Content creator Camilla Araujo danced in a bathrobe with “costume loading” written on the screen. Then she quickly struck a pose and transformed into Sharpay Evans, a character from Disney’s High School Musical. Her partner followed, posing and transforming into Sharpay’s brother Ryan.
For other creators, the reveal was stretched out a little longer, bringing in a different element, one by one. In the costume-loading video that Brooke Monk posted, she first revealed a blue wig, then the makeup, and lastly the outfit—becoming Jinx from the animated series Arcane.
But while the trend continues to rise throughout Halloween weekend, it does come with an expiration date, expected to fade once the holiday passes.