Big Brother Canada fans get so engrossed in the reality details of the show that they want to tear the clothes right off host Arisa Cox’s back.To accommodate the fashion feeding frenzy, with the premier of season two in a one-hour special March 5 at 9 p.m. on Global and Slice! Network (thereafter three hour-long episodes air each week on Slice!), Cox’s wardrobe will get its own weekly Twitter reveal (@arisacox) announcing who and what she is wearing each week.
“We were swamped with requests from fans for information on every shoe, every earring Arisa wears,” explains the show’s wardrobe stylist, Lisa Williams of the Twitter decision. “There are debates about her style on the fan forums.”
Williams, a petite blonde is dwarfed by the racks of clothes, stacks of shoes and a wall of jewels, all waiting for Cox to began laborious process of trying on.
“BBC inspires rabid fandom,” agrees Cox. “The fans are not casual. They are all-in. They tell me they tune in to see what I’m gonna wear and they want to know exactly where to get it.”
The interactive phenomenon takes place across multiple platforms. Season one reached some 2.7 million Canadians viewers a week (up to 4.2 million at peak times); plus more than a million hours of video were streamed from the 24-hour live feed at bigbrothercanada.ca. And the twitter hashtag #BBCAN trended every time a fan favourite or villain was kicked to the curb. The hashtag for the new season is #BBCAN2.
So that means much ado about what a 35-year-old mom of two from Edmonton is wearing. Echoing the words of supermodel mom Giselle Bundchen, Cox says: “I have a glam squad. It takes a team. I have some insecurities. I had two kids! Believe me, I’m yelling, ‘Where are the Spanx at?’”
Williams resumé is up to the task. Over the years, she has sorted a wild array of real folks for Canada’s hungry reality cameras: past gigs include dressing Dean (Tori and Dean) McDermott and chef Susur Lee for Chopped; funny-woman Elvira Kurt for the game show Spinoff; wrestling star Chris Jericho; the legendary Martin Short for Do Me a Flavour!; Michael Bublé and Pamela Anderson for A Russell Peters Christmas; plus a couple of rounds in the wardrobe ring with Howie Mandell in various vehicles.
Up until 2003, Williams was a high-school English teacher; this second career has become her real passion project. In building her wardrobing and image consulting resumé, she has watched the industry grow ever more sophisticated.
“The collaboration with a host is an incredible, intimate process. We both push each other. Fashion trends have become a much bigger element in the mix,” she says, in part because of so much fan attention to the details.
In addition to keeping Cox looking foxy, the wardrobe team meets each houseguest once ahead of the launch. Once they are locked into the game, the contestants all wear the contents of their own suitcases. But for the series’ challenges, the wardrobe team has to build custom costumes—mermaid tails, for instance, giant bee outfits and Gobelin getups. “They have to fit based on that one measurement meeting. The house guests of course get no contact with production staff.”
Dressing Cox, who started out last season not long after the birth of her second child, was a journey, says Williams, as her host’s body changed right before everyone’s eyes.
“The host needs to trust you. And you have to help hone the message of their personality. Arisa is a standout, a spectacular woman. This is network prime time, but we can push the envelope a little, with some non-traditional ideas, interesting dresses and unusual silhouettes.” That means some shorter skirts, some funkier heels, and, to Cox’s delight, some neoprene.
“But the main thing is that the clothes be flattering on camera,” says Williams. “And we can never forget we have to find a place to hide three microphones on a skin-tight dress.”
Cox looks up from fondling a punky spiked necklace. “My favourite is strapped to my thigh. I feel like James Bond.”
Cox is no stranger to cameras following her every sneeze. She began her career with a year as a contestant herself in the pioneering series U8TV: The Lofters in 2001. She translated that star turn into celebrity reportage at E!, The National, CBC Newsworld and Entertainment Tonight Canada. She is also currently one-half of a morning radio DJ team in Edmonton, which is where she commutes from for this Big Brother 2 gig.
And now Cox is dripping in diamonds. For at least three hours a week, that is. The newly rebranded Maison Birks is the official jeweller. This morning, Williams pulls some $135,000 in bling for the premiere episode. “Fine jewelry is very much back in fashion,” Williams says. “We want this season to shine. Go bling or go home.”
Gems aside, the process of finding the right outfit is painstaking. Williams points to the three jam-packed clothing racks. “All this, to get one look,” she says. The process is collaborative, but it is not just Williams and Cox who have to be happy. “There are lots of layers in television. A lot of people who weigh in on the intensive negotiations.”
The clothes are all from this spring, pulled from retail partners around town. Williams’ favourite include Gotstyle Women, in the Distillery, 6 by Gee on Roxborough Rd. and Over the Rainbow in Yorkville for Cox’s more casual gear.
“Arisa has an incredible body. She is not a girly girl, but she has real sex appeal,” says Williams. “And she is not a sample size. So we can’t borrow straight from designers. But later this season, we hope to have Greta Constantine do up some custom dresses for her.”
Cox’s signature free-form Afro has its own fan base. As Williams says, “With that hair, we can get away with some really exciting clothing choices. Arisa can wear really fun patterns, and some body conscious dresses.”
So what will be coming up this season? Williams drops one hint: “There will be lots of colour on the set. So we will play with lots of colour in Cox’s clothing.”
Cox’s wardrobe details will be released weekly on @arisacox.
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