Exclusive Interview with the stylist behind The Traitors – Sinead Mckeefry
Behind some of television’s most recognisable looks is a stylist with a formidable fashion education and an instinctive eye for storytelling through clothes. We sat down with Sinéad McKeefry, stylist to Claudia Winkleman, to talk about her journey from textile design to dressing some of the most high-profile figures on British television.
Sinéad originally studied textile design at Buckinghamshire College, where her talent quickly stood out. It earned her both a place and a bursary at the prestigious Central Saint Martins, under tutelage of the legendary Louise Wilson, former Head of the MA Fashion Design course. Wilson, renowned for kickstarting the careers of some of the most celebrated names in fashion (and reducing them to tears with her ‘tough love’ style of teaching) taught Sinead to up her game in every aspect of her design work, and as importantly to “do your research”.
“The library at CSM was extraordinary,” Sinéad recalls. “I spent hours there pouring over books and magazines.” Immersing herself, Sinead developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of fashion and designers that has served her in good stead ever since.
Graduating at a time when knitwear design opportunities were largely based in Europe or the US, Sinéad began assisting on photoshoots while working part-time in retail. It was there that she discovered her true calling: styling, the art of assembling clothes to create a mood, narrative and visual impact for magazines, television and film.
That instinct has since seen her dress a number of well-known faces, most notably Claudia Winkleman, whose distinctive looks on The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing have become style moments in their own right.
Your styling on The Traitors now has its own name, ‘Traitors Core’ and there is now a ‘Claudia effect’ with brands seeing a huge upturn in sales of chunky knits, tweed capes and even fingerless mittens. How does it feel to have created this?
“Its been amazing! I have loved the opportunity to lean into this really British look. The castle and the surrounding landscape have been an inspiration but these looks are really an interpretation of my authentic self, and the passion for this comes naturally to me. I have had messages from women saying they have pulled out an old tweed jacket from their wardrobe and teamed it with a black t shirt and boots. It is so wonderful to feel that I have inspired women to mix things up and put together elements in more unexpected ways. I feel there is something really relatable in what Claudia is wearing, women can wear so many of these outfits in their daily life without it feeling forced”.
How do you start to put the outfits together?
“We pull together at least ten times more garments than we are going to need, that way I can really start to understand how the garments and cloths work together. I am passionate about using the smaller makers amongst the more well-known brands, but if you gave me a rail of clothes without labels in, I would still make the same design decisions. Like so many creative processes, there is a natural instinct to styling, which I don’t think can be taught, but having a background in design really helps as I understand how garments and textiles are made. When I get to the final whittling down of the outfits I tend to do this completely on my own as I need my full attention on it. I find if I get distracted by something I completely lose my train of thought which can be a disaster!”
What outfits have you put together for The Traitors would you call personal favourites?
“There was a Prada kilt that I teamed up with a belt and cable tank top that I really loved. Kilts are such an easy thing to wear, and can be tailored in so many cloths, from mohair to a fine worsted cloth. They are such an iconic British garment worn by everyone from punks to Princess Ann and are completely unisex, leaning into an androgynous look that feels really contemporary.
Another highlight for me was a shaggy coat that was a complete showstopper. We bought this in 6 minutes having walked into the store, just knowing it was perfect for the show.”
You work with Claudia on The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing, which have such different aesthetics – how easy it is to juggle this?
“It can be hard shifting from one to the other as both require such different mind sets. The styling on Strictly is more about glamour and sparkle. We need to make very strong statements with such fabrics as lurex and Swarovski crystals and much less pattern. The work that goes into the contestants costumes each week is phenomenal and it is sometimes hard for this to translate on television, but when you are in the studio, they are breathtaking.
Again with The Traitors it can be hard for the details in the outfits to really come across, as there is obviously so much happening. A detail that I agonized over can sometimes not really be shown, which can be disappointing.
I create personas which Claudia and I then lock into and expand. For Strictly an example of this is Anita Dobson, whereas for The Traitors we have used Ronnie Corbett and Princess Ann. This really helps in terms of knowing whether a garment is right or not. Claudia was recently awarded an MBE and when we started discussing what she was going to wear, she insisted we channelled Princess Ann, although her award was given by the style icons brother!”
Copy the ‘Traitors Core’ Look
Sinead dressed Claudia in our Wetherby waistcoat for The Traitors season 4 promotional image (pictured above), as well as the matching Wetherby jacket in the episode airing Wednesday 14th January. Both tailored in a subtle herringbone tweed, woven for us in Yorkshire.
