The Semiotics of Traitors Style
Why the high-low heritage maximalism mix is a call to action for the best of British brands.
Claudia Winkleman’s clothes for hit BBC show The Traitors have rightly gone viral. It is no coincidence that with each season of The Traitors, interest explodes in her “Scottishcore” styling - let’s call it here the semiotics - of the quintessentially British country casual chic of the clothes Claudia wears. Indeed, Claudia’s wearable yet aspirational styling is central to the show, curated by her stylist of 20 years (which is about 1000,000 in celebrity styling years) Sinead McKeefry, who The Times has called “the most powerful woman in fashion right now “. McKeefry’s country grunge high-low mix of capes, tweeds and commitment to chunky knits, boots and Highland Fling style: where Miss Marple and Nancy Mitford meet Camden goth, define the aesthetic in a fabulously camp celebration of the best of British. Semiotics means “the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.” In the context of a chart busting TV show, what does the styling of the presenter, a woman in her 50’s, tell us about what women want to wear, and how British brands could really lean into this?
British country dressing is based on clothes built to last, using natural fibres which can withstand the vagaries of our ever-changing weather. How many other countries have a clothing heritage based on rain, wind, sleet and a dash of sunshine. In that order. It is the durability of country classics with a certain irreverence, in which we show our relevance and covetability, which goes beyond trends and back to style. Google searches for “Claudia Winkleman outfits” jump by over 200% month on month during active seasons of the series. Tartan trousers saw a 104% increase, while interest in green and brown clothing rose by up to 9.6%. While small UK brands, such as Exeter based knitwear brand Lauren Aston Designs, even has its own Claudia collection, so popular are the items she’s worn on the show. “The Roll Up Knit Down Jumper has basically been our best seller for the past two years ✨ thank you so much to everyone who has bought a kit, commission or pattern and TYSM for posting your gorgeous pics.If you’re obsessed with the traitors wardrobe, like us, comment word CLAUDIA and we’ll send you our Claudia inspired collection of knits.”
Why the high-low mix works
So let’s do a breakdown of the brands themselves. The high-low mix is intentional, combining aspirational designer pieces with lower priced independent and accessible high street items. And that’s a clever TV styling device, keeping the client elevated, but also approachable. The Princess of Wales does the same. The ‘Kate effect’ is reported to boost the UK economy by £1bn with her support for British fashion brands. So the sell-out impact of Traitors styling is clear. Claudia has been spotted in an array of British brands from Brora, Le Kilt, Johnstons of Elgin, Burberry, LK Bennett, Harris Tweed and more, in a combination of practical for the school run, accessible for all price points, and whimsy for covetability. High street retailers are catching on. The M&S cloud yarn sweater is very similar to a £1200 Isabel Marant knit Claudia wore for Celebrity Traitors, which sold out - as many items do - as soon as the programme was aired, for just £46.
The heritage maximalism Traitors look is big business. At Burberry their recent turnaround strategy was brilliantly simple. And hints at why, when British brands do what we do best, i.e. deal with the variables of British weather, we do well. Raincoats and scarves returned to centre stage and outerwear now represents more than 30% of their revenue. The holiday campaign ”It’s Always Burberry Weather” featuring Kate Winslet, Naomi Campbell, and Richard E. Grant in short films inspired by British rom-coms, were all trench coats in the rain, all leaning into what CEO of Burberry Joshua Schulman called “our original purpose: to create clothing that protects people from the weather.” That alongside Claudia’s Traitors sell out wardrobe, shows an opportunity for British brands to really buck the global downturn. If we focus on what we do best and keep to quality production and high level ethical manufacturing. The evidence is that Burberry just posted their first quarter of growth in two years. Stock is up more than 30% since January. China sales returned to growth for the first time in over a year. The brand is finding its footing again, by going back to what it always was. Timeless raincoats and scarfs as beloved of our former Queen and Olivia Colman alike.
HM the late Queen, and Olivia Colman in Burberry
Why is Heritage Maximalism a Thing Now?
The timing of brands going back to their roots isn’t coincidental; it aligns with a broader cultural desire among Gen Z consumers. Gen Z’s crave heritage, because iconic, nostalgic style is not something they grew up with. Gen Z’s grew up in an era of novelty and newness. These are kids who grew up with mobile phones and ipads. Every year there was a new app, platform or product to master. Their world has always been new. Heritage maximalism is about being rooted in a more timeless past, the comfort of durability and good quality above throwaway fast fashion fixes. Traitors styling is easy to adopt: clothes you can move around in, stay warm in and feel whatever the English for “hygge” is, in.
By championing British brands, the Traitors series is leaning into local manufacturing, quality craftsmanship and fibre traceability. This aligns closely with the work of Fashion Roundtable Board Member, Kate Hills, founder of Make it British, whose mission is to champion genuinely UK-made products, supporting brands to build their businesses across the UK. Kate is particularly known for coining the brilliantly incisive term “Britwashing”, about misleading claims around British manufacturing. Given the brand exposure that Claudia’s Traitorscore styling generates, I would love to see next not only the amplification of British style,and some British owned brands, but also British made and British textiles.
I launched The Great British Wool Revival to demystify British wool and create an easy to use map from farmers to designers, to boost income and industry for products all made here in the British Isles. In just over a year, we have seen a whopping 27% uplift in the price of British wool. The sharpest price increase in over a decade. Traitors can help is with this, if Claudia’s wardrobe also embeds the values of British made and British textiles, alongside British style.
To amplify the best of British, we have designed a suggested brand and outfit list that uses British wool and textiles and are British made, while still aligning with Claudia’s goth girls goes to the countryside look. When climate security is so uncertain and we are constantly being saturated with fast-fashion and cheap production, where many of these garments are made overseas with a lack of product traceability, it is refreshing to see this approach being reintroduced into British television
Top left to right:
Harris Tweed Lily Chore Jacket - crafted using Macleod tartan Harris Tweed® and made in Scotland.
The Hand-Me-Down Jumper by Navy Grey - this iconic cable jumper is made using 100% locally-grown British wool and is 100% British made.
The Tilda Kilt by Acme Atelier - made using Romney Tweed (Romney Sheep) and made in Scotland…very fitting for a Traitors series.
Middle left to right:
Tights in Anthracite by Herd - made using 100% Bluefaced Leicester wool, plant dyed and 100% British made.
And if you fancy switching up the fibre and still using Made in the UK, Phoebe English is a great addition as her brand focuses on circular design process, deadstock fabric and natural dyes. We feel the DRS 438 SPLIT SEAM DRESS would be a great choice and aligns with Claudia’s timeless style.
Eccleston Jumper in Peat & Sloe Mouline by Herd - made using 100% Bluefaced Leicester wool.
Bottom left to right:
Lambswool Hanner Nos Navy Scarf by Monkstone Knitwear - made using 100% Welsh wool and Made in Wales.
Wrist Warmers in Loam by Herd - made using 100% Bluefaced Leicester wool, in true Claudia style a fingerless glove.
Harris Tweed Claire Jacket Heritage Check - crafted using Harris Tweed® and Made in Scotland.