{"id":353111,"date":"2026-01-05T09:42:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T09:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/353111\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T09:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T09:42:12","slug":"the-power-of-claudia-winkleman-and-her-16000-killer-wardrobe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/353111\/","title":{"rendered":"The power of Claudia Winkleman \u2014 and her \u00a316,000 killer wardrobe"},"content":{"rendered":"

The power of Claudia Winkleman \u2014 and her \u00a316,000 killer wardrobe <\/p>\n

, The Times<\/p>\n

As the fourth series of The Traitors continues, this time with a new twist, there\u2019s only one question on the fashion industry\u2019s and every Vogue girl\u2019s lips: what will Claudia Winkleman wear next? <\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t, ostensibly, a fashion show. Nor is it even a glam show \u2014 not compared to Claudia\u2019s long-term stint at Strictly, where the glitzy costumes came second only to the dancing. The celebrity versions have brought us memorable fashion moments \u2014 Jonathan Ross\u2019s capes, for one. But this latest season sees normal people playing wink murder dressed in their high street best, so you might have expected a more low-key wardrobe from Winkleman. <\/p>\n

Instead, just three episodes in, Winkleman\u2019s on-screen wardrobe tallies up to somewhere in the region of \u00a316,000, according to reports in the Mail on Sunday. A \u00a33,865 coat and \u00a32,235 velvet jacket from Saint Laurent; a \u00a31,790 pair of Givenchy boots, and another pair \u2014 \u00a33,190 \u2014 from The Row. These are seriously expensive, seriously stylish clothes that fashion types will love, which is more than can usually be said for the unspoken uniform of female TV presenters: those block-colour bodycon dresses, the twee first lady skirt suits and silk blouses, the unwalkable high heels. <\/p>\n

\"Claudia<\/p>\n

Blazer, \u00a32,235, Saint Laurent; boots, \u00a31,080, Bottega Veneta<\/p>\n

\u2022 Claudia Winkleman could be the best female chat show host since Mrs Merton<\/a><\/p>\n

Winkleman is instantly recognisable for that heavy fringe and heavier eyeliner. Those felt unique enough in the realm of women on primetime TV, who tend mostly to wear \u201cno make-up\u201d make-up and perfectly tonged hair with \u201cnatural\u201d highlights \u2014 though none of this is actually natural, it\u2019s just supposed to look natural. And in the most youthful, approachable sense of the word, which is why honey blonde is the go-to hair colour of female newsreaders who would otherwise long ago have gone grey. Bar the British grande dames of acting, women on our screens aren\u2019t generally allowed to have wrinkles if they want to keep getting booked for work. Never mind appearing as if they \u201cslept in a skip\u201d, as Winkleman has described her preferred look. In this context Winkleman\u2019s style has always been subversive. <\/p>\n

\"Claudia<\/p>\n

Coat, \u00a33,865, Saint Laurent<\/p>\n

BBC\/STUDIO LAMBERT\/EUAN CHERRY<\/p>\n

But her Traitors wardrobe feels like a shift further in that direction. Last October Winkleman and Tess Daly announced that they would both be stepping down from hosting Strictly, where they would appear in sequinned minidresses or bodycon catsuits and sky-high stilettos. Yes, Winkleman wore them with her hair and make-up as she likes it, but the clothes still towed the party line. But her latest Traitors wardrobe is fashion for the joy of fashion, and perhaps without a producer\u2019s voice in her ear telling her she needs to wear brighter colours or to show a bit more skin.<\/p>\n

\"Claudia<\/p>\n

Blazer, \u00a3279, Jigsaw; blouse, \u00a3179, LK Bennett<\/p>\n

BBC\/STUDIO LAMBERT\/EUAN CHERRY<\/p>\n

She hasn\u2019t changed stylists: she has been working with Sinead McKeefry for going on 20 years. So we can assume that what has changed is the budget and the amount of freedom that the pair are given in creating Claudia\u2019s on-screen wardrobe. In earlier series the odd bit of Celine was mixed in with a lot from Reiss, Zara, Cos, LK Bennett, Marks & Spencer in a 20:80 mix; now that ratio seems to have reversed. There are no \u201cfriendly\u201d bright colours, no cleavage, no bare legs, no unwalkable high heels. There\u2019s lots of black, brown, burgundy, chunky knits and layers, clompy boots you can walk in and wear a thick pair of socks with. The coats and knits are oversized too: none of the bodycon uniform that women have worn on TV ever since it was proclaimed that the camera adds 10lb. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Why we\u2019re all copying Claudia Winkleman\u2019s Traitors style<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to track Winkleman\u2019s selling power in the same way that we could track Holly Willoughby\u2019s when the latter was presenting morning TV \u2014 and would often sell out that day\u2019s look within hours \u2014 because what Claudia is shifting isn\u2019t \u00a340 high street dresses. Many of the women influenced by her Traitors wardrobe will be shopping with a very different budget, and getting the look, rather than the exact piece. But for those of us \u2014 and surely there are millions \u2014 who don\u2019t aspire to regal block-colour bodycon dresses, nor that daytime TV look of floral midiskirts, Winkleman\u2019s unapologetic love of fashion finally gives us a muse. Certainly she\u2019s setting trends \u2014 those kilt-inspired midiskirts have been the fashion editor uniform this winter, and we can thank her for the chunky knits, the tartans, and the waxed jackets that are also all over the high street now. <\/p>\n

\"Claudia<\/p>\n

Knitted tank, \u00a3295, Le Kilt<\/p>\n

BBC\/STUDIO LAMBERT\/EUAN CHERRY<\/p>\n

Whether or not you want to dress like Winkleman, she has to be applauded for not playing the game that has always kept women on TV in a neat little box. It was only a decade ago that Fiona Bruce made headlines for reading the news while wearing trainers: now Winkleman is proving that a show can still be a smash hit without its female presenter showing a bit of leg, or sticking to an accessible wardrobe of high street clothes even if she\u2019s making enough money to shop at The Row. So I\u2019ll be tuning into the next episode, not for the twist, but to see what Claudia has been buying.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The power of Claudia Winkleman \u2014 and her \u00a316,000 killer wardrobe , The Times As the fourth series…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-353111","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}