Halloween Costume Guide
Thirteen songs. A baby bump reveal. The whole world watching. She did not break a sweat.
Rihanna performed at Super Bowl LVII on 12 February 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, delivering a 13-song medley that was her first live performance in seven years (Wikipedia). She wore two looks during the show: an all-red layered ensemble with a glossy bustier and oversized puffer jacket, and a green wool coat over a bodycon dress. She also revealed her second pregnancy during the performance. The red look is the one people remember. The costume works because almost everyone saw it, which is a useful thing to have going for you on Halloween.
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The red look depends entirely on colour consistency. The trench coat is the first thing people see. If it is the right red and everything underneath matches, the costume lands immediately. If the coat is a different shade from the boots or the lip, it reads as a red outfit rather than a specific moment. Mismatched reds are the one failure mode worth thinking about in advance, not because it ruins the look, but because it is the difference between “is that Rihanna from the Super Bowl” and “nice red outfit.”
During the show, Rihanna was visibly pregnant and performed for roughly 13 minutes on a floating stage above the field without a guest performer, which became the story as much as the music did. That composure is the character note at the party. She was not working hard. She was just doing it. If someone asks how you are holding up in that full monochrome red in a warm venue, the correct answer is that you are fine.
The colour-matching problem is real
Buying red items from different retailers without comparing them first is how this costume ends up with three slightly different shades of red on the same person. The coat, the coverall, the boots, and the gloves do not need to be identical, but they cannot be visibly different reds in the same outfit. Order items with enough time to compare them in the same light before the event. Return anything that reads as orange-red next to a true red.
The green look is the easier build
If you want the Rihanna reference with less coordination work, the green look is it. The coat carries most of the recognition, the dress is barely visible, and the wig and sunglasses handle the rest. The one trap is the green shade: the coat, boots, and glasses all need to be in the same green family. An olive coat with emerald boots reads as a colour clash, not a costume.
Group Idea: The Halftime Spectacle
Excellent group concept if everyone knows which specific event you are referencing. The backup dancer look is easy: oversized white hoodie, white wide-leg pants, dark sunglasses. Justina Miles, the ASL interpreter whose performance went viral alongside Rihanna’s, adds an unusual and specific detail that people who watched the show will immediately recognise. A$AP Rocky rounds out the real-life group dynamic. This works best when the whole group arrives together.
Group Idea: Super Bowl Halftime Legends
Strong group for a crowd that knows their halftime show history. Rihanna (2023), Snoop Dogg from the 2022 show, and Michael Jackson from 1993 cover three of the most-discussed performances in the event’s history. The visual contrast across the three looks is genuinely interesting. At a general party, Michael Jackson and Rihanna both land immediately. The Snoop Dogg specific look requires more context.
Group Idea: The Fenty Cinematic Universe
Might work, but only at an event where people are paying close enough attention to connect four different Rihanna roles. Nine Ball from Ocean’s 8 and Marion Crane from Bates Motel are the two acting roles with the most recognition. Petty Officer Raikes from Battleship is a stretch for most crowds. The concept is clever if everyone in the group commits and can explain it. At a general party, it reads as four Rihanna costumes, which is also fine.
Group Idea: The Rockin’ Robyns
Might work, but the connection is the name only. Robyn Rihanna Fenty, Robin Buckley from Stranger Things, and Robin Scherbatsky from How I Met Your Mother share nothing except a name. That said, name-based group concepts land well when the costumes are strong individually and someone in the group is willing to explain the theme. Robin Buckley and Robin Scherbatsky both have broad recognition. Rihanna does not need introduction.
Group Idea: Expecting Excellence
Might work, but this group requires everyone in the room to know all four characters and notice the pregnancy connection. Marge Gunderson from Fargo and Rosemary Woodhouse from Rosemary’s Baby are known, but not everyone has seen them. Padme Amidala from Revenge of the Sith is more widely recognised. Rihanna’s pregnancy reveal is the event-specific hook that ties the group together. At a general party, this will need explaining. At a film-literate crowd or a themed event, it lands.
This build has more items than it looks like it needs. The reason is that the original styling was layered: base layer, corset layer, outer coat. You do not need all three layers to make the costume work, but the coat and at least one layer underneath are non-negotiable.
The performance energy is unhurried. She was not working hard on that stage. She was just present. That is the note.
Pick one of the two looks. The red look is built around a red zip-front coverall, a red trench coat, and a red lip. The green look is simpler: a sleeveless bodycon dress under a green wool pea coat, a wavy bob wig, and oversized cat-eye sunglasses. Both need a fake microphone to sell the performance angle.
Yes, and for a specific reason: the pregnancy reveal during the performance gave the costume a second layer of recognition that outlasted the event itself. Most people remember the all-red look and the moment. Three years out, this still reads immediately at any party where the crowd is old enough to have watched it.
Two land well at a party. The first is direct: “Never a failure, always a lesson.” The second is more pointed: “I don’t do things for the response or the controversy. I just live my life.”
The green look. It has fewer items, the coat does most of the visual work, and it requires no head-to-toe colour coordination. The red look is more recognisable but demands that every item actually be red. One off-shade piece and the whole thing reads as incomplete.
It is optional, but it adds the single most memorable detail from the performance. A prosthetic bump under the coverall shifts the costume from “red outfit” to “that specific Rihanna moment.” Without it, the look still works. With it, people get it immediately.
The performance featured a large cast of backup dancers in oversized white hooded jackets and white pants with dark sunglasses. Their look is straightforward to recreate: white oversized hoodie, white wide-leg pants, dark sunglasses. It pairs well with Rihanna for a group.
A$AP Rocky was not a performer in the halftime show itself. He was present at the event as Rihanna’s partner, and the couple had already confirmed their relationship publicly. He is included in the group idea section here as a costume pairing, not as a credited performer in the show.
Rihanna performed a medley of her biggest hits including Umbrella, We Found Love, Work, Rude Boy, All of the Lights, Run This Town, Wild Thoughts, Pour It Up, and Diamonds, among others. It was her first live performance in seven years.