Alan Cumming, Sam Spector Talk ‘The Traitors’ Season Three Fashion

Alan Cumming has been on TV since the ’80s — long enough for friends and family to get used to seeing him onscreen. But his role hosting “Traitors” has them starstruck all over again.

“When this started, so many people were texting me, and being really sort of expressive and really excited about it,” says the celebrated theater and screen actor, in New York shortly before the end of the year. “So that’s when I knew it had hit a nerve.”

“Do you remember when I said to you, ‘I think this is becoming a thing’?” says stylist Sam Spector, addressing Cumming seated a few feet away. The pair had convened within Spector’s styling studio to revisit the fashion from the show’s new season. “Because I was completely surprised. I’ve worked on so many projects, TV shows with other clients, just dressing them as themselves, that make it or don’t — but this became something special,” adds Spector.

Peacock’s murder mystery show, set within a Scottish castle, returns for a third season on Thursday with a motley cast of figures from across the reality show universe: Boston Rob and Tony from “Survivor,” Bob the Drag Queen from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and Bob from “Biggest Loser,” “Vanderpump Rules” villain Tom Sandoval, as well as past contestants from “Big Brother,” “The Bachelor” and “Bachelorette,” multiple “Real Housewives,” Zac Efron’s brother, Brittany Spears’ former husband Sam Asghiari, a descendant of the British monarchy and more. Each week, contestants attempt to vote out “the murderers” hiding amongst “the faithfuls,” while competing in “missions” in the Scottish countryside.

Leading the pack in character as show host for the U.S. franchise is the native Scotsman Cumming, whose over-the-top Scottish-themed style — plaids, kilts, tweeds, cloaks, capes and more — have become a hallmark of the show. “It’s sort of part of the whole DNA of the show now,” says Cumming of his show style.  “I feel like we’ve sort of subverted the form of reality TV a little bit. And so what I’m wearing is an element of each episode. We’ve kind of added another layer to the thing,” he adds.

In the first episode of Season Three, Cumming rides into the scene on a horse. The actor is wearing a long velvet cape with a sparkling “A C” embellishment, along with a beret, kilt and sporran. “My inspiration was this ‘Outlander’ character, but we wanted it brighter and more vibrant. So I found this teal kilt,” says Spector, showing off a mood board for the look that includes imagery of “Outlander” star Sam Heughan and depictions of vikings. “And then as the mission goes on, it becomes a little more theatrical.”

“More theatrical” sums up the pair’s sartorial approach — and now, ongoing challenge — each season. 

“We’ve got sort of a house style. I always say, ‘dandy, Scottish layered,’” says Cumming.

“What’s dandy?” Spector quickly deadpans, and then clarifies, “This is an inside joke.”

Flipping through Spector’s mood boards and meticulous documentation of their inspiration and outfits for the new season, the pair enthuse over look after look, offering definitive descriptors for each: one is “dominatrix meets subversive Linda Evans,” another “Pillsbury Doughboy meets Renaissance fair leather daddy” and “Little Shop of Horrors meets pope meets man bride.” 

Spector eyes the (vegan; Cumming doesn’t wear animal leather) look from the first episode, which they describe as having a “plastic-leather daddy muff vibe.” “There was talk back and forth whether it was too harness — whether America’s ready for a harness,” says Spector. “Is that OK for network TV?”

The answer is in the ratings and appetite — both from audiences and reality stars eager to get cast — and capped off by critical reception. The second season of the show was the number-one unscripted series in the U.S. across all streaming platforms during its launch week according to Nielsen ratings. Last year “The Traitors” received four Emmy nominations and two wins, for outstanding reality competition program, while Cumming won outstanding host for a reality or reality competition program. 

“It was something so new and different to what I’d done before,” says Cumming of the appeal of stepping into the hosting role. “It sort of reminded me of Clue or something,” he adds. “I love a board game, and I love the campiness and theatricality of those games. I could tell from the start they [the production company] wanted to kind of up the ante. It wasn’t just, ‘hello, I’m Alan Cumming, and here I am with these people.’ They purposely wanted to match the tone of the show.” 

Cumming, who otherwise doesn’t work with a stylist and dresses himself for red carpets, linked up with Spector for “The Traitors” on recommendation from his manager Nikola Barisic and wife Allison Stein.

“I always wanted to work with Alan,” says Spector, adding that both men moved to New York in the late ’90s, and share mutual connections through the theater and film community. “Most New York people I’ve worked with once or twice, but we had never worked with each other. I always wanted to, but I normally just do red carpet and press appearances. So to do costumes, when I got the call, I just thought we were going to be dressing Alan Cumming. But then it gave me this challenge.”  

“To which you rose,” says Cumming, nodding.

More is more — and so far, viewers continue to be game for more of the whimsical Scottish styling. 

“I think it’s so hilarious that the American version of this show is much campier and more theatrical than the British version. I don’t think that that can ever have happened before. And I think it’s because of our work,” says Cumming. “I really like how that’s been embraced by everyone. People are tuning in to see the people they know from these other shows,” he adds. “[And] they’re actually also tuning in to see what sort of crazy femme-y outfit this middle-aged man is going to be wearing.”

And while the primary goal is entertainment, Cumming is optimistic that the lingering impact could be acceptance. 

“I think that can be really helpful, in that when they see someone on the street who’s not conforming to the normal mores of male-female binary dressing, maybe they’ll be less judgy about it,” he says. “Maybe they’ll understand a bit more when they see what Sam’s put me in. I really do think it must help — or it’s a positive thing to present in that way.”

The show has also minted a new unexpected star, who’s been getting stopped on the street for her role as cohost: Cumming’s dog Lala, who also dons her own coordinated costumes. “She’s not so good with hats,” says Cumming. “She loves a kilt.” 

Several looks from the season are hanging from a rack in Spector’s styling studio, and Spector turns attention to the blue bejeweled cape hanging among other scene-stealing outfits from the season. Viewers of the first two seasons will recognize the cape from past finales, and has become a sartorial throughline. 

“This he wears to reveal the winner,” says Spector, pulling out the colorfully bejeweled aqua-tone cape. “It’s been on every season, and we’ve decided that we’re going to just keep adding more and more to it. So it started plain, then the second season we added the jewels, and then the third season we’ve added—” well, you’ll have to tune in to find out.

“Everybody’s like — it’s a big debate — ‘is that really expensive,’ you know, like Chanel,” adds Cumming. “Or is it some skanky thing off of Etsy?”

“It’s a little bit of both,” says Spector.