The arch Traitor
As The Traitors II reaches its conclusion on BBC One, Stephanie Smith takes a look at how Claudia Winkleman’s edgy but polished outfits have revolutionised British country style.
IMMACULATE. Iconic. Stellar. Another level. Pretty much everyone even glancingly interested in fashion agrees that Claudia Winkleman has been slaying it in style on The Traitors. And now it seems that British countrywear will never be the same again. If 2023 was all about Barbie-core, 2024 has kicked off with Traitor-core as the No 1 fashion trend to aspire to. (Core, in case you are wondering, is online slang for aesthetic, used as a suffix on a noun to emphasise its elevation to a recognisable vibe or trend.)
At its heart, Traitor-core is all about taking traditional country style staples – tweed jackets and coats, fair isle and chunky knits, wellies and scarves – and adding more than a dash of gothic glamour, to create looks that are striking, fresh, recognisable, intriguing and wearable, all at the same time. Why wouldn’t you?
For anyone fortunate enough to find themselves staying in a stately pile this winter, Claudia’s series two outfits have offered masterclasses in how to dress from day to night, outdoors and in. Like the first series, Traitors II was filmed at Ardross Castle, which was remodelled in the 19th century in the splendiferous Scottish Baronial style and is set in 100 acres of parkland on the banks of the River Alness, just north of Inverness.
It is against this backdrop that reality game show host Claudia presides over the fortunes of her puppet Faithfuls and Traitors while wearing a series of swoon-worthy, polished looks that have seen fashion lovers take to social media the instant she appears from behind an oak-panelled door or emerges from a swirl of mist beside a huge stone tomb.
Claudia’s stylist, Sinead McKeefry, said she has been receiving more than 600 messages after the first airing of each programme, from women of all ages, congratulating her and wanting to know where they can buy the items worn. Many are designer and high end, natch – £880 Saint Laurent boots, don’t you know – but there are also £23.99 Decathlon leggings, and high street mixed in.
Sinead, who also styles Claudia for Strictly Come Dancing, has described the sentiment behind her Traitors II looks as “Ronnie Corbett meets Princess Anne meets Madonna (the
Guy Ritchie days)”. Another muse mentioned is Lady Amanda Harlech, a veteran blender of country elegance with punk undertones.
Many fans have commented on the wearability of the outfits, but some are admittedly a little bonkers, with Claudia describing one that will be auctioned in March as “sea monster meets Princess Anne and then they go to a golf sale and they nod at Jane McDonald”. Er, right.
But the sum of her outfits is so much more than the parts. Take an earthy-toned grey/ green/black tartan kilt style skirt (£480, from Brora), and add a slightly oversized moss green cable-knit jumper (with a contemporary twist of smiley faces on the elbows, it’s from Japanese menswear brand Kapital,