Inside ‘The Nanny’: Archival photos take fans through the style of the beloved ’90s sitcom

“I wanted to make a difference and give wardrobe it’s due,” says Brenda Cooper, the brainchild behind the show’s looks iconic.

Are you ready to strut down memory lane with a sassy twist?

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of The Nanny, which premiered its pilot episode on Nov. March 1993, we sat down with the show’s groundbreaking costume designers — Brenda Cooper, Shawn-Holly Cookson and Terry Gordon — who share never-before-released images from their personal archives.

Fran Fine, brought to life by the hilarious Fran Drescher, charmed her way into the Sheffield household and our hearts with style, flair and a bit of pizazz. Three decades later, the skirts may have settled, but the legacy of The Nanny’s fashion remains as unforgettable as her voice and that laugh.

“I’m not a follower of trends and never have been,” says Cooper, who was handpicked by Drescher herself to curate the look that’s come to define ’90s fashion. “I wanted to make a difference and give wardrobe it’s due.”

Take a peek at some of the most epic behind-the-scenes shennanigans as shared by Cooper, Cookson and Gordon.

“There wasn’t a big budget at all [at the beginning] because the show wasn’t proven to be a success yet,” she says. “So what I did was create silhouettes: the black turtleneck, the black miniskirt, the black opaque tights and the black suede — not leather! — suede high heels to create a column.

“Then I would put different jackets, different vests so I could change it out every week using that basic silhouette, and make it look different every time,” she continued. “So it kind of evolved.”

“It’s definitely without a doubt the best and most fun job,” Cooper adds. “Fran, in a way, was my Barbie doll. I got to play dress up with her every week.”
And let’s not forget Yetta Rosenberg, Fran’s sassy grandmother played by Ann Morgan Guilbert. “Yetta is a f***ing force of fashion,” Cookson says. “No one should discount the Yetta fashion!”

“I love watching [The Nanny]. I love seeing it,” Cookson, who took over as lead costume designer on Season 4, says of the show’s fanfare all these years later.

“Fans reach out to me and they’re like, ‘Do you remember what this was?’ And, you know, I watched the show and I know I was there. We did it. I did it. But it just seems like a dream.”