Warning: spoilers for Freakier Friday below.
The press tour for Freakier Friday — the sequel to 2003’s Freaky Friday starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis — has been a parade of Easter egg-heavy looks (like Lohan’s lavender gown and red guitar purse), prepping us for the movie’s bound-to-be-iconic costumes. I just couldn’t have prepared myself for all the luxury fashion I’d see on screen.
It’s been 22 years since Anna (Lohan) and Tess Coleman (Curtis) switched bodies — giving us a classic makeover montage and many enviable looks — and now the mother and daughter are returning to cinemas on August 8, for what’s amping up to be another fashion spectacle.
“I feel like it was conversations with [director] Nisha [Ganatra] and with Jamie and Lohan — just to see where they thought their characters were going to be and what they would look like,” Freakier Friday costume designer, Natalie O’Brien, tells Refinery29. “I’m a sucker for nostalgia, so we wanted to pay homage to what they had already done and not steer too far from it. But we also don’t want to hit you over the head with what you’ve seen already.”
This time, in a freakier twist, Anna — who’s planning to marry single dad Eric (Manny Jacinto) — swaps bodies with her 15-year-old daughter Harper (Julia Butters), whose tomboy surfer aesthetic centers on her signature beanie and overalls. Meanwhile, Tess swaps with her soon-to-be-granddaughter, Lily (Sophia Hammons), a preppy, aspiring designer who sticks to thick headbands, bows (peep the Coachtopia bow bag!), and lots of Vivienne Westwood. (She looks like your typical Disney Channel fashionista.) This all results in four characters comically stepping into each other’s shoes (many of which are Jimmy Choo!), producing even more iconic looks than the original movie.
After leaving her band Pink Slip to raise Harper, Anna is now working as a musician’s manager at Capitol Records. “She’s a cool mom. She didn’t fall off and lose her rocker sense,” says O’Brien, adding that she took inspiration from actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg’s effortlessly chic and timeless look. “[Anna] still stayed in the music industry, so I think that’s important to showcase that with her clothes. I liked the idea of an old leather belt that she’s had for a while and some star-studded boots that aren’t corny and kind of cool for her everyday look.”
Anna’s success in the industry also explains the luxury pieces she’s accumulated in her closet. From Olivia Von Halle silk pajamas and (not one, but two) Self-Portrait bedazzled dresses to cool-girl looks (i.e. a Staud dolphin dress, The Frankie Shop suit, and Dôen floral dress), her style is brighter, sparklier, and fancier than her grungy teenage aesthetic.
“I also feel like the only way I can get Lohan in a rash guard, has to be like a Balenciaga [version] —something sick — and it worked,” O’Brien shares, referencing the palm tree and sunset print top Anna wears after swapping bodies with Harper. The surfwear looks continue with Anna (as Harper) later stepping out in a charming floral Cynthia Rowley wetsuit.
