Move over, Claudia: how Jonathan Ross became a Traitors style icon | The Traitors

TThe most exciting moment in every episode of reality TV show Celebrity Traitors is when the breakfast room’s ornate door opens to reveal which Sadiq has survived another night of murders.

But this season, there was an extra element of expectation for the contestants and the viewers at home. What will Jonathan Ross wear?

Since the popular show launched in 2022, it has been host Claudia Winkleman who has stood out with her skirts, oversized knitwear and impressive oversized coats. This time, Ross dominated the squad and the country until the last second of his exile. Over the past three weeks, the streamer has appeared in everything from sleek tailoring to an ’80s Top Gun-style jumpsuit. There are stylish ties, oversized aviator sunglasses and dramatic feathered shawls. At one point he even loitered around the goal in a tweed cape and fingerless leather gloves in a nod to Winkleman’s signature style.

The 64-year-old actor has been known throughout his career for his eccentric personal style both on and off screen. A flashy, oversized suit has been his signature since he burst onto screens in 1986 as the host of late-night TV chat show The Last Resort. So while no one expected Ross, who once wore Jean Paul Gaultier’s signature blue plaid skirt suit to the Pulp Fiction premiere in 1994, to start dressing like a member of the Labor Party, his decision to step up his outlandish style as a Traitor came as a surprise. Because it is very important not to stand out. In previous seasons of the civilian version of the show, contestants like Paul Gorton tried to slip under the radar in eye-catching jeans and T-shirts, while former army engineer Harry Clark took on his “softboi” persona in flannel shirts and a pearl necklace.

Fashion psychologist Dr. Dion Terrelonge thinks of Ross’s look as a costume. “In a game based entirely on perception, Ross seemed to lean more into his personal style than he did in his day-to-day life,” he said. Terrelonge believes Ross’ appearance adds to Loyalist “big dog” theory They are convinced that either he or Stephen Fry is the leader of the pack of traitors. “He joined a show where the simplest strategy usually used was to try to blend in,” says Terrelonge. “But Ross deliberately chose to stand out by dressing conspicuously. Sometimes when people dress that way it’s used to signal status. It says ‘I’m a leader’ and ‘I’ll do things my way’. It was risky. It could have made her much more vulnerable just because she stood out physically.”

While the cast was assigned a stylist, Ross planned her looks herself, choosing pieces from her extensive personal wardrobe. In a post-show interview, she revealed that she was packing even more unconventional pieces that she never had the chance to wear, including a completely gothic look.

Of course, only the viewers at home knew that Ross was the real Traitor. As a result, his wardrobe performed the same as his treacherous behavior towards other players. The aforementioned jumpsuit and Ray-Ban aviators look referenced Tom Cruise’s “Maverick” hero, and created a kind of Loyalist energy as Ross, along with other celebs, pushed the two-and-a-half-ton Trojan horse up the hill.

Ross donned a velvet cloak to carry out his murders under the cover of darkness; by day his cheerful tweed cape evoked suave detective Sherlock Holmes as he pretended to help the Loyalists determine who was deceiving them. The only thing missing was a deerstalker hat. Homestyle knitwear also helped fool actors, as it captured the aesthetic of laid-back crime movies like The Tuesday Murder Club. Would a ruthless killer really wear a furry leopard-print cardigan and caramel corduroy trousers to breakfast? Clare Balding didn’t think so when she compared this particular look to the Flintstones cast. “Yabba, don’t yabba,” Alan Carr quipped in response.

But for every innocent look, there was also an undeniably disloyal look. In a post-show interview, comedian Lucy Beaumont, who was murdered face-to-face by Ross, said she couldn’t believe she and her loyal friends couldn’t figure out Ross was a Traitor just by looking at his outfit.

Stylist Peter Bevan points out that checkered tailoring is “Bond villain code” and compares the black feathered scarf worn by Ross to Paloma Faith’s Cruella de Vil’s funeral. “While his attire was naturally quite eccentric, it felt like he was deliberately exaggerating his villain personality,” says Bevan.

But even though Ross was aware he was nearing death, he remained defiant and chose to wear a striking Kermit green jacket to attend his final roundtable. Seven days and dozens of wardrobe changes later, the faithful have finally pieced together their not-so-secret sartorial tips.