Fran Drescher’s status as a style icon is undeniable. Throughout the ’90s, Drescher and her longtime stylist, Brenda Cooper, harnessed the subversive power of fashion both onscreen and off, earning the actor the kind of stature that’s ever present in our collective memory decades later. That kind of intentionality remains important to Drescher, who is the face of ThredUp’s campaign for Full Circle, a first-of-its-kind holiday collection featuring bespoke, upcycled ready-to-wear, homeware, and accessories.
“I am right on point with this company. Even at Cancer Schmancer [Drescher’s foundation dedicated to preventing and curing cancer], we’re all about connecting an unhealthy environment with your own unhealthiness, so we’re always trying to educate the public. This is an extension of the message that I’m always driving home. Everything that you bring into the house should be sustainable; it should not be an open-end, but a closed-end circuit. For me, it’s the only way to live, and the more I influence other people to do the same, the happier I am,” she says.
The collection was designed by Zero Waste Daniel and made in New York City from 2,000 pounds of repurposed fabrics, while the campaign was shot in Drescher’s Malibu home and styled by Cooper, who also collaborated with Zero Waste Daniel on three Fran Fine–inspired coordinating sets. Ahead of the launch of the collection, which will have 20% of its proceeds donated to Drescher’s organization, Drescher spoke with Vanity Fair about thrifting pre-internet, her perpetual search for “a piece,” the stories clothes can tell, and a return to the screen this coming summer.
Vanity Fair: What was the experience like wearing and shooting the collection for the campaign?
Fran Drescher: I discussed my personal style with Zero Waste Daniel, so he chose things that he thought would be comfortable for me to wear. And if you saw the picture of me in that big fluffy coat—
Fabulous!
It’s great! It doesn’t have any real fur, but it suggests that, and it’s kind of bohemian. It’s got that patchwork vibe to it. It’s totally upcycled, and they let me keep it! I cannot wait for it to get colder.
When you think of upcycling—putting all these different pieces together—it’s really an act of storytelling in itself. How have you witnessed fashion’s ability to tell a story throughout your life?
[Pieces] that have a history have always been very meaningful to me. I’ve always enjoyed wearing vintage. I like surrounding myself with antique furnishings. I have a respect for the fact that somebody else enjoyed this before me, and it was in somebody else’s home. In the United States, because it’s such a young country, we’re just now developing that respect. Whereas when you go to Europe, they’re so used to living as a part of this continuing historical thread—it’s much more a part of their culture. I’m really happy that it’s becoming a part of the culture here in the United States too because most of the waste at the dumpsters is clothes, which is so sad. Wherever I travel, I like to find something that I can bring home, and it will always remind me of where I was and when I got it. Your wardrobe tells a story about who you are and where you’ve been.
Kayla Holliday
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