Biggest Loser ‘Families’ 2015 Makeover Episode 30.

One of the most challenging and exhilarating styling jobs I have ever done was being the featured “Guest Fashion Stylist” on Channel 10’s Biggest Loser Families 2015 Makeover Episode which was one of the highest rating episodes of the series (after the Finale).

I was originally hired to style the Top 6 Contestants who were to receive a makeover, however after having my outfits styled, I received a quick change from the production team to tell me I was to style 15 of the contestants!! It was VERY challenging with every possible barrier - it was being filmed in the middle of winter with the brief calling for summery looks, there was no sizing information as the contestants had been losing dramatic weight (the sizes ended up ranging from size 12 to 28 for women and Medium to 8XL for the men), it was also being filmed in the middle of stocktake so stores were very reluctant to loan clothing, plus no budget to buy any items meant everything had to be loaned, each contestant required 3 full looks each plus more options in case they didn’t work on camera (45+ looks) and I had less than a week from when we were filming… Oh and I had to be on camera to present my styling!

We had to keep the image a secret, as to not spoil the surprise which was to be captured on film. So we had a pre-production ‘try on’ session where I blind folded the contestants and helped them try on their chosen outfits… This was tricky and a lot of giggles were had!

I ended up sourcing 7 clothing racks jam-packed full of options for the contestants, plus shoes, accessories, ties, socks - You name it, I brought it!

I had 3 amazing Styling Assistants on the day of filming who I will be forever grateful to: Mel McQueen, Skye Mackinnon, and Olympia Ristway.

On the morning of filming the girls arrived at my house and we loaded 4 cars completely to the brim with our items for the contestants to wear. It was a long day; 6am until 2am the following day. But oh boy was it rewarding! Some of the contestants cried with joy when they saw themselves for the first time, some of the women had never worn a dress before and “never felt beautiful”, it was so heartbreaking but so incredibly inspiring.