With inspiration from Enya and Countess Markievicz, and a mood board featuring Katharine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, and Carole Lombard, stylist Anne O’Shea had plenty of ideas when dressing Siobhan McSweeney for Ireland’s first series of The Traitors.
Siobhan fired off a hundred images to me, and I created the mood board. It was a lot of 1930s-style silhouettes, which are really flattering on her body, and it just meant we had a springboard. She also had a lot of images from Death Becomes Her, so that’s where we began. Luckily, I’m after trying to get Enya to come out of her castle to come to Ireland’s Fashion Week, that’s my personal goal.
she tells RTÉ Lifestyle, she adds, laughing. Set in the historic Slane Castle, the psychological show of detection and backstabbing needed looks full of intrigue, glamour, and heritage for its host
To make sure everything was perfect for the big series, O’Shea flew to London to visit McSweeney’s flat, spending a day over tea and pink wafers to understand her style.
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She picked pieces from Siobhan’s wardrobe that were ready for TV (like the white cape that worked perfectly with the competitors’ outfits) and found inspiration for new designs by Irish brands (like a kimono made from dead-stock fabric by The Zero Waster).
Everything is building blocks. You can’t really start from scratch with anything; going to her wardrobe was the first building block for this project. Just to be able to get into her mind and into her house and to figure it out was, I think, the best way to do it. I’m a rubber arm, but Siobhan holds firm in her beliefs. She’s dead right, as well. That’s the main thing for her, she wants inclusive brands, and she likes to work with fellow artists.
she explains, Siobhan also has a firm rule: she only works with brands that offer sizes for all shapes. In 2023, she told RTÉ Lifestyle she had turned down “amazing designers” for her BAFTAs night, and that hasn’t changed, and O’Shea says
This brought several Irish designers to the show, including Paula Rowan, Orla Langan, Oran Aurelio, Delphi Antiques, Éadach by Sarah O’Neill, and The Zero Waster.
Read More: Siobhan McSweeney admits nerves over hosting The Traitors Ireland
After working in both Ireland and the UK, O’Shea says that working at home is all about personal connections.
Sarah [Designer Sarah O’Neill] and Siobhan have a really nice relationship, so we actually met for a coffee and soup in Bewleys. I was so happy for her to be able to give me some pointers and ideas because it’s exhausting. She had some phenomenal ideas, like to inscribe the clothes with ‘fealltóir’ (Irish for traitor).
she smiles
There were also lucky moments, like finding the perfect pair of boots after a lot of searching.
I spent hours looking for boots that would suit Siobhan; over-the-knee and flat because she can’t wear heels.
she says, referencing an accident in 2021 that saw the actress break her leg
After hours of online shopping, O’Shea found “incredible, cool, chunky boots”. The problem was they didn’t ship to Europe. Luckily, she was styling a show in Abu Dhabi with the Irish Ambassador to the UAE, Alison Milton. Unfortunately, the boots would arrive a day after she left.
Taking a chance, O’Shea asked Milton to get them delivered to her home. She agreed, and even arranged for a colleague travelling to Dublin to bring them back.
Because of this, the stylist had to visit the Department of Foreign Affairs to collect the special boots. While she was originally supposed to create 13 looks, the production ended up needing 26.
After all the wardrobe checks, travelling, rush orders, and mood boards, her favourite look is one of the simplest.
The opening outfit with the blazer, the navy turtleneck, and the Orla Langan skirt. There’s just something about it that is so powerful, and fits Siobhan so well. And I love seeing her in those boots.
Source: RTE