But I had the freedom from Fran to take it as far as I wanted.The iconic 90s classic The Nanny introduces us to Fran Fine (Fran Drescher), who goes from working in a bridal shop in Queens, to being both dumped and fired by her boyfriend/employer Danny Imperialli. It’s a bit over the top, but we need that in entertainment sometimes. “Fran can take a lot of looks, and this is one of my favorites. I wanted this ‘My Fair Lady’ look and I found that for $70. You see it on Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington. Todd Oldham’s 1993 Spring Collection had all the models wearing their hair like this, and I just loved it. Do you know how exciting it was to go into those warehouses and see clothes that Cher had worn and they were hanging up on racks? I saw this dress and nothing could be perfect,” Cooper says. All his designs for Cher were there, too. For this, I wanted to make it look like different characters, like, ‘Let’s play dress up.’ I went to Elizabeth Courtney Costumes where all of Bob’s clothes were. I always loved to make Fran look like Audrey Hepburn or different characters. “In this episode, Fran Fine is going on this date. Here, Cooper breaks down her 10 favorite outfits from “The Nanny.” “What Fran loved was that I could use wit and humor because I’m British to elevate the comedy,” Cooper says.Ĭase in point: On one occasion she had accidentally dressed actress Renée Taylor, who played Fran’s mother, to match the floor, and it was kept in because “it was considered hilarious.” Heavily influenced by bygone eras, whenever possible, Cooper wove in styles from the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, as well. “From the beginning, that became a turtleneck, the miniskirt, opaque tights and a pair of high heels,” Cooper reveals. The key to Drescher’s wardrobe for the show was about knowing the right pieces. Cooper would typically have to pull together 50 outfits for the cast per episode of those, six would be for Drescher. She also kept in mind that those outfits had to have a formality to them because Fran Fine was working in a household. It was a sassy elegance that was important to me, and pushing that to the edge without tipping it.”

The key for her was to create something that “had to be fun, witty, sassy and elegant. The show is now seeing a resurgence thanks in part to its streaming debut on HBO Max, which means a renewed interest in Nanny Fine’s wardrobe.Ĭooper, who worked on the first four seasons, says she wanted to turn Drescher into a walking work of art with her outfits. Decades ago, it was Cooper who crafted the timeless looks for Drescher on the CBS comedy, “The Nanny” when it began airing in 1993. But it’s far from their first project together. Costume designer Brenda Cooper is head down in her upcoming book, “The Silhouette Solution” out this December, a fashion book with a foreword by Fran Drescher.

The nanny season 2 episode 6