Do MasterChef Australia Contestants Get To Choose What They Wear?

Expression is paramount in the MasterChef Australia kitchen this season. Not just when it comes to the delicately designed dishes that are carefully plated, but also in the most literal sense... in the contestants' clothing choices.

It's got us wondering, though. How exactly does clothing work on a big show like MasterChef Australia? Are the contestants free to wear whatever they want? Or are there guidelines everyone needs to stick to? Can they pack their clothes from home? Or do they need to wear what's on the rack? To find out, we asked Mimi Wong, a contestant on the 2024 season of MasterChef Australia.

Wong shares that despite the contestants often looking like they've been dressed professionally, what they wear all comes down to personal choice. "We definitely all put our best foot forward to dress ourselves," Wong tells Refinery29 Australia. "But I gotta say, at the end of the day, obviously, cooking comes first."

"We do dress ourselves, but because of the intensity of the competition, everyone kind of approaches that a little differently," she continues. Wong explains that every contestant had their own take on self-expression in the kitchen, but emphasised that often there has to be a practical element to what they wear.

Like many other television shows, you can expect that branded clothing was vetoed due to licensing issues. But that doesn't mean there weren't other alternatives for expression! "A lot of people obviously go down the route of just colourful t-shirts or some people go through hair accessories, earrings, and makeup looks," Wong says.

For Wong, her go-to mode of self-expression was through hair styling. "[It was] definitely scrunchies and hair clips," she says. "My mum had sent me a box of claw clips and I had gone out and bought a bunch of scrunchies. I had a lot of fun going through all those." Similarly, Nat Thaipun has also been rocking scrunchies or a ribbon, making it a go-to in the MasterChef kitchen.

The 25-year-old high school teacher also tells us that she dabbled a bit in the milkmaid trend. "I also definitely had this thing like a milkmaid, baker girl, puffy sleeve situation," she says. "To be honest, it was unexpectedly fun to dive into that side of the competition as well and I definitely had a lot of fun trying to think about, 'Oh my god, what's the outfit today?!' Are we giving fierce and unwavering? Or are we giving vulnerable today?"

So there you have it! Not only do MasterChef Australia contestants get to choose their own 'fits, they're also big advocates of fun, practical ways to play with fashion and styling — like an adorable colourful scrunchie. Yep, we're taking down notes!

Want to know more about how MasterChef Australia operates behind the scenes? Discover if contestants get to taste their own meals, what happens to the leftover food, and the BTS wizardry of keeping dishes at the right temperature until judging.