The former ‘The Nanny’ star thinks the late ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ star’s style was “very special and different” from other actresses she saw as a child.
The 64-year-old actress told Interview magazine: “Well, I come from a very humble beginning and a small provincial world. But for some reason, I could see that the style of Audrey Hepburn, who I would see in movies on television, was something that I wanted to aspire to. I knew that her look was very special and different from what I was used to. When I was a little girl, my parents didn’t have a lot of money, but I rarely said I wanted anything, so when I did fall in love with something, they tried to get it for me. I saw this beautiful tweed winter coat that had a neck shawl that wrapped over the shoulders. It was very sophisticated for a little girl. It was expensive for them, but they bought it for me because when I wore that coat, I felt like Audrey Hepburn.”
Fran details her love of learning about fashion history, especially after seeing it take shape in the 90s with brands like Moschino and Chanel.
She said: “I always love going to museums that celebrate fashion—fashion exhibitions. In the ’80s, and certainly in the ’90s when The Nanny was on, I was discovering designers like Todd Oldham and Moschino, but also Chanel. Chanel was starting to get younger in its look. Karl Lagerfeld really brought a youthful energy without delineating away from the core of the brand. He didn’t reinvent the wheel, he just made it better, faster, younger, and more contemporary for the time. He was kind of doing the Chanel version of Madonna.”
‘The Beautician and the Beast’ star labeled fashion as “an expression” of our identities and feelings.
Fran said: “We don’t walk around in society naked, so clothes become an expression of who we are and how we feel. It’s a reflection of our inner selves, the you you want to project to the outside world. One of power, one of sophistication, one of fun, one of youth. I always consider clothing wearable art.”