Many of Fran Drescher’s outfits on The Nanny were actually super-high fashion, from Dolce & Gabbana and Versace to Lillie Rubin, Todd Oldham, Thierry Mugler, and Moschino
Fans of The Nanny should book a flight to Lille, France, fast!
At the Tripostal art gallery, some 20 wardrobe pieces from the classic ’90s Fran Drescher sitcom are on display in The Nanny exhibit.
The exhibit is part of the Series Mania festival, the annual international gathering celebrating all facets of film and entertainment. Admission is free, and though it only runs through Friday, an Instagram account for the exhibit teases that “many cities will follow” — telling followers to “stay tuned.”
It was originally scheduled to debut in New York two years ago, but was canceled due to COVID.
Drescher, who starred as series lead Fran Fine in all six seasons of the show, appears in the exhibit via video.
“Hi, I’m Fran Drescher! Welcome to The Nanny exhibition,” the 64-year-old actor says in a clip, shared online. “I hope you enjoy the show!”Among the items on display are many of Drescher’s colorful blazers, bold skirts, dramatic hats, and printed vests — each more memorable than the next.
Many were actually super-high fashion, from Dolce & Gabbana and Versace to Lillie Rubin, Todd Oldham, Thierry Mugler, and Moschino.
The latter is responsible for one of The Nanny’s most-recognizable looks, a black-and-white polka dot shift dress with oversized fruit appliqués (including a watermelon, cherry, banana and lemon). It was worn on the show solo in season 1, as was its matching bolero jacket, which was paired with a simple black mini in the pilot.
Moschino also made the rainbow-colored vest Fran Fine famously rocked in the first episode. That’s in the exhibit, too.
Photos snapped from behind-the-scenes of the making of The Nanny are also on display, as are props from the CBS sitcom.
Chris Brempel curated the exhibit, with help from partners Clara Haseloff and Marina Sacco.
Emmy-winning Nanny costume designer Brenda Cooper had a hand in helping too, and appears via video too, telling museum-goers about how she helped craft Fran Fine’s signature style.
“I love that this thing that I created in 1993 has transformed into this [exhibit],” she told Brempel in an Instagram Live last week. “I’m just so incredibly proud of your passion, your ability, and what you’ve created.”
Cooper, alongside Shawn Holly Cookson and Terry Gordon, styled Drescher on the show. She also published a book called The Silhouette Solution in February, which gives women tips for dressing for their bodies (the very same tips she used on The Nanny).
“So many of the original pieces were purchased in Beverly Hills,” Cooper explained on Instagram. “It’s the most fun job I ever had, creatively, going in and creating this with other people’s money. I got to go shopping every day!”Back in 2018, Cooper spoke to Hello Giggles about her decision to go with bold colors and patterns on the show.
“I didn’t get any direction, but I knew exactly what to do, and Fran just let me do it … It was very colorful and it was form-fitting,” Cooper told the outlet. “That was the inspiration to create this character.”
“I intentionally wanted to make a statement of style, wit, and humor, all combined,” she continued. “So I just started shopping for the show… I wanted color, I wanted it to be sexy. And there was lots of color available in 1993.”
Working with Drescher was a particular dream. “Fran gave me my wings and she trusted me,” Cooper told Hello Giggles. “We were a match made in heaven. She just let me do my thing, and that’s what the result was.”The Nanny premiered in November 1993 and ran through June 1999. Co-created by Drescher and her ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson, the sitcom followed Fran Fine, who unexpectedly takes on a job as a nanny after being dumped and fired by her boyfriend (and boss!).
Over the years, Drescher has reworn many of Fran Fine’s fashions again on her social media channels, most recently to celebrate the show’s streaming on HBO Max.
She’s also teased the idea of a Nanny reboot, telling Entertainment Tonight in 2019 that she and Jacobson were “working on a very big project” that was “going to be very exciting for the fans.”
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In October 2021, Nanny alum Charles Shaughnessy indicated to Entertainment Tonight that Drescher’s idea for the show is “really interesting” but “depends on a lot of moving parts.”
He said the show will likely pick up where it left off.
“We would be married, the kids would be getting older by now they’d be some teenagers,” Shaughnessy explained. “And we would have probably have grandkids from the other kids. I don’t want to give too much away, because I don’t know i
