In November 1993, a cosmetics salesman from Flushing, Queens rang the doorbell at Sheffield’s swanky Manhattan mansion. Dressed effortlessly in leopard print and suede heels – complete with a nasal accent and signature laugh – Fran Fine is fashionable, loud and unapologetically New York.
Portrayed by the inimitable Fran Drescher, The Nanny, centered on a sassy fashionista who becomes a nanny for the three children of a wealthy English widow, ran for six seasons on CBS, from 1993 to 1999. With her charming wit and outgoing nature, Fran Fine became a style icon of the ’90s and an unexpected trendsetter for fashion lovers obsessed with bold looks. Her bold, daring.
To celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary, Yahoo Entertainment sat down with The Nanny’s costume designers to discuss the show’s enduring legacy and how they created some of the most iconic costumes in history. television history. Suffice it to say, their stories, and the archival photos they’ve generously dug up from the vault, are as entertaining as the show itself. (Click here to see more behind-the-scenes photos of The Nanny.)
Finding Fran: The vest that started it all
Emmy Award-winning costume designer Brenda Cooper created Fran’s iconic look. She says it all started with a striped vest once worn by supermodel Twiggy in the short series Princesses, which also starred Drescher. Although Cooper was a low-level assistant on the show in 1991, Drescher was so impressed with her vision that when looking for a costume designer for The Nanny, she knew Cooper was the perfect fit.
“Fran saw something in me and said, ‘I want you to be my designer and I want you to create the look,’” Cooper recalls, smiling. “It was actually my first job.”
Cooper describes Twiggy’s vest as becoming the foundation for what would later define Fran’s overall style: “Sassy with a sense of humor, a sense of humor and a foundation of elegance.”
The rest of her silhouette – turtleneck, strong pattern, black miniskirt, opaque tights and suede heels – has evolved naturally throughout the series. For those additions, Cooper was heavily inspired by the work of Edith Head, the Oscar-winning costume designer who helped define the glamor of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
“In a way, Fran is my Barbie doll,” she explains. “Fran let me do my thing, which doesn’t always happen on set. She basically gave me wings and let me fly.”
Drescher created and executive produced The Nanny with her then-husband Peter Marc Jacobson, whom Cooper called his “dream team”. They didn’t expect to set the tone for a new generation of fashion enthusiasts, but as she recalls, it happened. And hurry up.
“By the end of the pilot, we knew we were have gold. “At that time, people didn’t dress like that for TV stars, in fact that wasn’t the case. When Fran walked out, you knew exactly who she was before she opened her mouth.”
Cooper remained on the show for the first three seasons, until she left to start a family of her own. That’s when she handed over the reins to assistants Shawn-Holly Cookson and Terry Gordon, both of whom carried out Cooper’s vision until the series finale. Needless to say, they have big shoes to fill.
“I was working the day my son was due to be born,” Cooper shares. “That’s devotion to you.”
‘Oh my God! She looks amazing!’
Before being hired as Cooper’s assistant, Cookson worked primarily in independent films. By the time she landed the role of Cooper in the fourth season of The Nanny, she said it was a well-oiled machine.
“Brenda really sets the tone,” Cookson emphasizes. “As my mentor, I really had to make sure I kept the essence of the character.
“We’re trying to keep things super interesting without getting ridiculous,” she notes of the small changes made here and there throughout the show. “We achieved this balance beautifully thanks to Fran. I think that’s why people have sympathy for her. With all the bright colors and prints, it could have gone to a place of like, ‘What are you guys thinking?’ But it never got there. It’s always, ‘Oh my God! She looks amazing!’”
Jacobson made sure Drescher stood out not only visually but also energetically, Cookson remembers
