Claudia Winkleman's stylist on the star's impeccable Traitors style and the brands she's faithful to

The original brief given to Claudia Winkleman’s stylist, Sinead McKeefry, for the first series of The Traitors was providing 12 outfits for 12 episodes, with just four weeks to pull everything together.

“We didn’t really know what we were doing,” she recalls. “Everyone was working out what the format was. There was talk of Claud wearing a parrot on her shoulder. She’s up for anything, but I was like, ‘I don't think we should make it pantomime.’ I believe there are enough beautiful things out there.”

The celebrity stylist, who is based in London, was introduced to Winkleman by Fearne Cotton, who McKeefry was working with at the time, during a photoshoot. They’ve now worked together for almost 20 years.

“Strictly was the most glamorous we’d ever go, but it still had a masculine edge to it and we kept it quite chic and pared back. The Piano is where you'll see the real Claudia. That's how Claudia would naturally dress, just a little more polished. She loves a Uniqlo jumper, and that's what she gets,” McKeefry explains. “With The Traitors, we can be a lot more editorial, edgy and creative.”

For series 1, she focused on textures and patterns and, far from parrots and pantomime, she turned to high-quality heritage brands including Barbour, Brora, Dubarry of Ireland, and Johnstons of Elgin for countryside chic, keeping it “quite neat and obvious” to suit the backdrop of Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, where you could “wear anything and look amazing”. It’s there that 22 contestants compete for up to £120,000, with the Faithful attempting to banish the Traitors.

With the show now in its fourth series, Winkleman requires 36 outfits, three per episode, with breakfast, the mission and the round table all being treated differently. They take three months to prepare, with loads of back-up options and wet weather gear for any eventuality. “We lock everything down in London,” McKeefry says. “It's almost like prepping for a catwalk show and moving everything from one location to another.”

McKeefry, 51, who graduated from Central Saint Martins with an MA in Fashion, specialising – fittingly – in knitwear, doesn’t travel up to Scotland. It’s Catherine Moran and her team who look after the wardrobe in Scotland.

All the looks are photographed on Winkleman and lying flat with descriptions of how they should be put together. Then they’re shipped off in a transit van. “It’s so far that the driver has to stop overnight, so I said, ‘You’re sleeping in the van, aren’t you? You’re not leaving those clothes on their own?’”

She’s joking of course, but Winkleman’s tweeds, capes, fingerless gloves, boots, chunky knits, kilts, leggings and oversized coats have become iconic and are a big draw as to why people tune in.

The first episode of series 4 was the show’s most-watched to date, peaking at 6.9 million viewers. It opened with some familiar imagery – Winkleman in her black “murder cape” and a close-up of her red leather fingerless “murder gloves”.

“Claudia's always worn wrist warmers. One year, at the end of Strictly Come Dancing, she bought the hair and make-up girls and me some Johnstons of Elgin wrist warmers,” McKeefry says.

“It was really easy to incorporate fingerless gloves as part of The Traitors looks, but production really wanted red murder gloves and I was really resistant in the beginning. That is not something you're ever going to see on a mood board of mine. It’s not working with my sludgy colours. Red against black is so cringe. I went on Amazon, got a couple of options, and the least offensive were these thinner fingerless ones.”

Winkleman now always wears this outfit when the Traitors are going to murder a contestant. “I've learned to love the red gloves. I actually think it was a genius move. It was never the intention that the cape would also always be used for a murder, it was just part of one of the looks and then it became a standout piece.”

What you will see on McKeefry’s mood board are “a lot of pictures of Amanda Harlech; Chanel references; editorial that I've loved over the years with things shot outside by Juergen Teller or Corinne Day; exhibitions I’ve been inspired by; and there’s a catalogue in my head of imagery I’ve used since I was studying, like Alexander McQueen’s shows that I attended.”

When The Traitors returns, so do the online articles and searches related to how to dress like Winkleman. According to search agency Deviation, from data gathered in November 2025, there’s been a 900 per cent rise in searches for “Claudia Winkleman clothes style” compared with the same time the previous year and a 50 per cent increase for “Claudia Winkleman Traitors outfits”.

Searches for Winkleman on Google increased to their highest yet over the past five years. And based on the most popular search terms, people are particularly interested in adding these items to their wardrobe: tartan trousers, knee high boots, lace shirts, tartan skirts, and kilts.

Plenty of the pieces Winkleman wears sell out as people attempt to nail the Highland goth, castle-core aesthetic. After the show airs, some of the items are kept and archived, others are loaned, but most are auctioned off for different charities.

“I really try to support new and independent brands,” McKeefry adds. “It's been great over the past few years to see those brands be able to go to the next level and have that exposure from even one of their things being on The Traitors.”

An example is Devon-based Lauren Aston Designs. Winkleman wore one of her forest green knit jumpers in series 3 and it had a phenomenal impact on her business, resulting in hundreds of orders, and Aston dubbing it the “Claudia effect”.

If you look at any clothing brand, this “Claudia effect” is now unavoidable, including to McKeefry. “I see it so obviously. I'm walking through somewhere like Zara and I'm like: ‘Traitors, Traitors, Traitors.’” Clearly, this is fashion we’re remaining 100 per cent faithful to.

Here, McKeefry uncloaks her favourite outfits of Winkleman's from every series...

Series 1

“This was one of the first fittings we did. The blazer and fine merino men's knit are from Johnstons of Elgin, and the shirt is from Reiss,” says McKeefry. “Everything had to be so quick, so I went on Amazon and typed in jodhpurs to see what came up. I think it was a breakfast look that went into a mission look.

“Production phoned me to say that the breakfast looks wouldn't work for the round table. I was like, ‘What's the round table?’ and they explained it was a much darker, more evening, luxe thing. Luckily, you only really see the top half of Claudia in the round table, so that was on our side a little bit.”

Series 2

“Rose & Wül is run by Nadine Rose in Nottingham who does these big hand-knitted blankets. Claudia had bought some and introduced me to her. I then contacted her on Instagram and commissioned her to do a couple of scarves. The jumper is Mr Mittens, a Belgian-Australian brand – their knits are so cool. I just love the sleeve on that,” says McKeefry.

“When independent companies contact me, or I stumble across something, I'm so happy when it’s a brand that really aligns with what we do. Knitwear is such a craft. It can't be rushed; that's why it’s so expensive, especially when you're looking at using cashmeres. Hours go into these things.”

Series 3

This Fair Isle lambswool jumper from luxury Scottish brand Brora sold out after Winkleman wore it on the show (and so did all the other colourways). Has McKeefry come to expect that? “It definitely is getting that way now.”

The kilt is from Le Kilt, a staple on her mood board. “Sam [McCoach, the founder] works really hard and she does all of the shoots that they use to promote the brand. I love the imagery they create, so I pull a lot of their stuff off Instagram. Her partner will drop stuff to the office, so they haven't got tons and tons of people working for them.”

Series 4

“Le Kilt is a go-to brand for me and I have long been a fan of their beautiful kilts. They have a wonderful eye for quality fabrics and I love that they do everything with a slight grungy/punky edge. It seemed perfect to partner the kilt with this hand-knitted vest from an independent company called Hambro & Miller, which I discovered last year. I love to support independent brands and both of these showcase stunning craftsmanship," says McKeefry.

Series 1 – The Celebrity Traitors

“I thought the celebrities would be leaning towards plaids, tartan, tweed and knits. I wanted Claudia to have more of a gothic edge with a romantic element, just so it wasn’t merging into everyone looking the same," says McKeefry.

“We were on a shopping day when we saw those Givenchy boots, and they were bought in five seconds. Claud's a size six, and I was like, ‘We'll take anything between a four and an eight, whatever you've got.’ Boots like that really inspire with their structure, proportion and weightiness. They sum up my mood board.

“The ‘murder cape’, or poncho, which is a great shape, is by a company called Luxury Family Affair. The brilliant Tilla Lindig makes them and does the personalisation on them for us [the word “Celebrities” on the back].”

The Traitors series 4 continues on Wednesday 14th January at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Series 1-3, and The Celebrity Traitors, are available to watch on iPlayer.

Add The Traitors to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.