Costume designer Brenda Cooper is starting work on her upcoming book, “The Silhouette Solution,” out this December, a fashion book with a foreword by Fran Drescher. But it’s far from their first project together. Decades ago, it was Cooper who created Drescher’s timeless look on the CBS comedy “The Nanny” when it began airing in 1993.
The show is currently enjoying a resurgence thanks in part to its streaming debut on HBO Max, which means renewed interest in Nanny Fine’s wardrobe.
Cooper, who worked on the first four seasons, said she wanted to turn Drescher into a living work of art with her costumes. The key for her was to create something “that was fun, witty, sassy and elegant. It was that sassy elegance that was so important to me and pushed it to the edge without compromising it.”
She also noted that the outfits had to be formal because Fran Fine was working at a home. Cooper often had to assemble 50 costumes for the cast each episode; of those, six will be for Drescher.
The key to Drescher’s wardrobe for the show is knowing the right pieces. “From the beginning, it became a turtleneck, miniskirt, opaque tights and a pair of heels,” Cooper reveals.
Heavily influenced by bygone eras, whenever possible Cooper also weaves in styles from the 40s, 50s and 60s.
“What Fran loves is that I can use wit and humor because I’m British to enhance the humour,” says Cooper.
Case in point: On one occasion, she accidentally dressed actress Renée Taylor, who played Fran’s mother, to match the floor, and it was kept because “it was considered fun.” fun”.
Here, Cooper breaks down 10 of her favorite outfits from “The Nanny.”
“In this episode, Fran Fine goes on a date. I always like to make Fran look like Audrey Hepburn or other characters. To do this, I want to make it look like different characters, like, ‘Let’s play dress up.’ I went to Elizabeth Courtney Apparel [Bob Mackie’s design studio], which has all of Bob’s clothes. All of his designs for Cher are there, too. Do you know how exciting it is to go into those warehouses and see the clothes Cher wore and them hanging on the racks? I saw this dress and nothing could be more perfect,” Cooper said.
“I’ve always loved her hair like that. Todd Oldham’s Spring 1993 collection had all the models with their hair like this and I love it. You see it on Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington. So we did her hair like that.
“That necklace was from a thrift store. I wanted this ‘My Fair Lady’ style and I found it for $70.
“Fran can take so many shots, and this is one of my favorites. It said exactly what I wanted it to say. So sexy and elegant. It’s a bit extreme, but sometimes we need that in entertainment. But I have Fran’s permission to go as far as I want.”
