More than two decades after the 2003 Freaky Friday remake, any follow-up would have high expectations to meet in order to satisfy fans: hilarity from Jamie Lee Curtis (check), god-like hair flipping from Chad Michael Murray (check), and a reunion of Lindsay Lohan and her Pink Slip co-stars that rocks (check).
In Freakier Friday, the sequel to the nostalgic hit body-swap movie directed by Nisha Ganatra, Lohan’s Anna isn’t an angsty teenager dealing with her arch-rival Stacey Hinkhouse anymore. She is a pop star’s manager and a single mom—and, as the internet has been raving about during Lohan’s press tour and in the days since the film premiered, the actress has never looked better. In fact, minds have been blown about how refreshed she appears, and how impeccable her style has been, both on red carpets and in the movie.
In Freakier Friday, grown-up Anna falls for handsome British chef Eric Reyes (Manny Jacinto). His daughter Lily (Sophia Hammons) is the nemesis of Anna’s daughter Harper (Julia Butters)—something that complicates Anna and Eric’s hope for happily ever after.
Meanwhile, Anna’s mother, Curtis’s Tess, is still a therapist, but now she’s a therapist trying to be a podcaster. How modern.
Just like in the first film, a freak supernatural event causes an unexpected swapping of bodies—only this time, it’s all the women who are subject to the existential catastrophe.
On their way to becoming one big happy family, Tess and her soon-to-be step-granddaughter Lily swap and are forced to walk a mile in each other’s shoes, while Anna and Harper’s switcheroo helps them gain a new understanding of one another as mother and daughter.
Hijinks familiar to fans of the first film ensue as the characters freak out in their new bodies, struggling to adjust their body language and behavior to “fit in” as a member of a different generation. Style, of course, is key to pulling off that comedy.
From silky body-swap pajamas to Lohan’s elaborate red and olive formalwear (pictured on movie posters everywhere), Natalie O’Brien’s costume designs are joyful storytelling vehicles.
The designer recalls crying on set as Pink Slip filmed their sequence at The Wiltern. She, too, is nostalgic for Freaky Friday, but she also came prepared to outfit beloved characters for new adventures—at, when it comes to Lohan, this new phase of her life.
In an interview with The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, O’Brien discusses the evolution of legacy characters, the creative work of new body swaps, and the glory of Lindsay Lohan’s “rockstar goddess” moment.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
In 2003, Anna’s wearing her black Pink Slip T-shirt and plaid pajama pants. Tess is wearing a white nightgown. In the new film, they have on these gorgeous silk Olivia von Halle sets in different colors. Harper and Lily get the more individualized sleepwear. How did you approach designing what the characters would wear for a more complex switch reveal?
I wanted it to be more grown up, and I didn’t want to follow the same structure that we had [in the first film].
I thought it was kind of nice to have a little bit of a negligee underneath Tess’s pajamas, because I don’t want her to feel like she’s lost her sexy and her vibe. [Tess] and Ryan still have a very good relationship, and I thought that the Olivia set is really cool. When Lohan saw it in the fitting, she was like, “I just love silky, soft textures.” I think the clouds are kind of reminiscent of a broader idea of where they end up going. And I wanted some prints in there.
I love the Petite Plume that Lily wears. It’s kind of froofy, girly, still a little bit cool and coquette-like. And I think Harper’s mismatched, kind of grungy but still cool, androgynous sweatsuit really works for her, and I just wanted it to all feel different.
Years back [when you designed costumes for] Ingrid Goes West, Instagrammable Southern California fashion was important in that film. What did it mean for the costume design in Freakier Friday to have this LA setting frame the story in this context now?
It was a big deal. I wanted California to be another character in the film. Harper’s beach looks and some of Harper’s wetsuits and stuff, some of them were California brands. We did shopping in, like, all the shops in LA, trying to use local resources.
When we were coming up with Tess’s character later on, it’s been 20 years. Who is she? Is she just wearing black suits again? No, I think she’s evolved. Plus, she’s taken on some of the characteristics that she had from switching with Anna 20 years before, so she’s a little bit cooler. She’s a little bit more in tune with her style. There’s this place in LA called the Brentwood Country Mart. There’s Jenni Kayne cardigans, there’s a scarf store where everything’s hand-dipped. And all these women flock there, of all different age groups.
I was really inspired by these older women—not old, but older women, really chic-looking ladies. And they were all sipping their teas, having their matchas, walking around with all their jewelry and their scarves and their cardigans. So I was like, I kind of want to take [Tess] there. I want to give her this Santa Monica, Brentwood Country Mart vibe and turn her up, but also make her feel warm and not as cold as the original one, because she changed and she knew what it was like to be an adolescent again. So I think that that should stay within the story.
The waistcoat vest look plays into Anna’s style both when she’s in her body and then in Harper’s body. There’s a polish to Anna on the outside. What do you remember discussing with Lindsay Lohan when collaborating on Anna’s style as a music industry professional and as a mom?
I thought it was really important not to age her, or not to make her too rocker. I think there’s a fine line in between. We had a lot of conversations back and forth of what was inspiring.
David Byrne is a very inspiring musician. He kind of wears oversized blazers, so the pink three-piece Frankie Shop piece that we used on her was kind of musically inspired. We were also inspired by Charlotte Gainsbourg. She’s just chic and very cool, but it’s effortless in a way.
And I think Lohan can pull so many things off. We wanted to do a bit of vintage, a little bit of rocker, a little bit of edge, a little bit of something that she has maybe owned—like her old leather belt that you can see is kind of worn—the studded boots, some good old comfortable jeans that you can wear to work, but it not being so overly done like a character.
I think it was kind of fun to be able to have that transform into what Harper’s look was, because she is quite androgynous with her styling. She usually folds for comfortable beach wear or would wear board shorts to school, which is why it’s so funny to put Anna in a rash guard when she heads to work. Because [Harper in Anna’s body] thinks it’s a normal part of what she could wear.
Did Chad Michael Murray weigh in much on his transformation into adult Jake?
He did, yeah. We had some long conversations. He’s so cool and he’s so thoughtful, and he takes a minute before he speaks. We didn’t want to take away or change him too much. I still wanted to make the audience feel like, “Aw, that’s still like the Jake we know and love,” like a good old leather jacket, some cool boots, great jeans.
The pieces and the particles that we put on him were things that we looked for. They weren’t just like, “Oh, we got it all at Bloomingdale’s.” Everything was kind of tracked. I wanted to do a classic hoodie underneath, just to show [Jake] a little bit more grown up. There was another scene that we shot that didn’t go in the movie. [Murray] just released it on his Instagram, and it’s so fun. He’s in all denim, and it was kind of an ode to a Backstreet Boy moment where it’s head-to-toe Mel for Re/Done. He loved it so much. He asked to keep it.
Freaking out for the return of Pink Slip 🎸 Check out this EXCLUSIVE behind-the-scenes look at Freakier Friday – only 3 more Fridays until we’re rushing to theaters to see it!
Let’s talk about the reunion of the band Pink Slip. I love hearing “Take Me Away” again in the year 2025. Christina Vidal Mitchell looks incredible in this leopard print suit and silk tiger print scarf. The black mesh for Haley Hudson feels in keeping with her character. And of course, Lindsay Lohan’s studded black dress and pink boots, it’s so cool to see her wearing this ensemble. What was important to you in visually bringing a 2000s teen rock band into today as adults?
It’s a big cross to carry. I never want to step on the original toes. That is so important to have that be your dream bubble that you work off of. But I just knew I wanted to make Lohan stand out. I wanted her to feel grown up. Christina brings her the dress and is like, “Take that dolphin thing off. You’re not a 12-year-old.” [Harper-as-Anna] still buttons it up all the way because she doesn’t know. And then we had to have pink boots because, come on, it’s Pink Slip. I just had to do it. And we need a little bit of rocker snakeskin, this brand called Paris Texas, who does incredible boots. I wanted her to shine.
Early in the film, there’s this great little exchange after the body-switching scene where Tess in Lily’s body tells Lily in Tess’s body, “I would never show that much cleavage.” And then Lily as Tess responds, “You do now.” [With] this custom ruched dress, it feels so in sync to have Jamie Lee Curtis’s boobs peeking out and these little pigtails on top of her head. What was it like collaborating with hair and makeup to create the whole picture?
They had obviously seen what we had created, and this dress was something that we made custom. It was kind of an ode to Trading Places, this film that Jamie Lee had done years ago. And we knew this pink fuchsia that’s ruched is going to look really good on her. It’s really funny. We printed out the photo of it and then she just took a marker and drew different things. [After collaborating with an illustrator], it turned into this harmonious dress that was so bonkers and over the top. But I think it really fit with what was happening with Lily that day and her conversations and her dialogue. So I wanted it to match that world. And then, of course, we had to throw in these denim boots with the matching bag.
But collaborating with hair and makeup, we liked the idea of doing something that kind of felt like an original Lily hairstyle because we saw her earlier with her Vivienne Westwood skirt in the food fight, with the hair up and the two different pom-pom style pigtails. Once they did the hair and makeup test [on Curtis, replicating Lily’s hair], I was like, “Sold.” I think she was wearing sparkly glitter eyes. Everyone was just game.
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