Tim Gunn Recalls Heidi Klum ‘Getting Ready’ in Iconic Worm Halloween Costume: ‘It Was Really Strange’ (Exclusive)

Tim Gunn remembers being in the room as friend Heidi Klum prepared one of her most famous Halloween costumes of all time. Speaking to PEOPLE at the New York Public Library’s annual Halloween Costume Parade on Oct. 25, Gunn shared what it’s like to be with his ex Project runway co-host ahead of her 2022 Halloween party, where she famously returned to the post-pandemic event dressed as a worm. “It was at a point where no one really knew what she was going to do except for her makeup artists,” Gunn tells PEOPLE. “And I couldn’t tell. If only it was really weird.” Klum’s costume included a curved head, a long tail, and realistic protrusions that covered her entire body, except for her eyes and mouth. Klum’s husband Tom Kaulitz accompanied her dressed as a fisherman.

Heidi Klum and Tom Kaulitz at Klum’s 2022 Halloween Party.

Taylor Hill/Getty

“The year she was a worm [was] the first time I really interacted with her hair and makeup artists because they were making those prosthetics,” says Gunn. “And they said, ‘We told her we can’t do it. This is completely overambitious.’ But they are.” Besides Project runwayGunn and Klum are also co-stars on the Prime Video reality show Making a cut. The model has worn elaborate Halloween costumes over the years, including Jessica Rabbit, a werewolf and an old woman.

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Gunn also noted how “uncomfortable” the worm costume was and recalls Klum walking the red carpet at her party that year.

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn in 2018.

Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

“She kind of wrestles,” Gunn says. “I mean, I told her afterwards, ‘If you had fallen, you would never have been able to get up.’ And she said, ‘I fell and I had a lot of help to get up.'”

The PEOPLE Puzzler has arrived! How fast can you solve it? Play now! Gunn also says that despite Klum’s many memorable Halloween decorations, he doesn’t have a personal favorite.

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“I love all of Heidi’s costumes. I mean, I don’t want to sound like I’m just being politically correct. They’re always so different,” Gunn says. “I have no idea what she’s doing this year,” he adds. “She loves Halloween. And usually the day after Halloween, she’s making plans for next year.”

Tim Gunn.

Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty

Gunn served as a judge, along with librarians from the New York Public Library, during the NYPL costume parade. The annual event invites New Yorkers to dress up in literary-themed costumes inspired by their favorite books, poems, characters and authors. Gunn has been a judge since the first parade in 2017. Gunn, who is also the author of books like Gunn’s Golden Rules (2010), Tim Gunn’s fashion bible (2012) andTim Gunn: Natty Professor (2015), says that although he himself does not dress up for Halloween, there is one bookish costume he would wear when participating in the parade.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. “I’d probably come in as Edgar Allen Poe,” Gunn says, adding that, “I think he’s inseparable from Halloween in a lot of ways.”

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Source: HIS Education