The Netflix show’s resident fashion expert details the upcoming season.
Queer Eye is ready for a comeback. The beloved Netflix series, which is up for six more Emmy nominations this year, recently wrapped filming in Austin, Texas after productions were halted last year due to the coronavirus. And the Fab Five’s resident style expert Tan France believes it’s the most ambitious season to date.
France explained that the upcoming season focuses on people, including local business owners, who “have a much broader reach” in their communities. “It feels like our biggest season yet, because we’re not just focusing on people who have one singular issue or life or family,” he said.
While Netflix publicist Sean Martin told us that the premiere date for the upcoming season is TBD and won’t be released “for a little bit,” fans have a lot to look forward to. But you might want to keep some tissues handy. “I think it’s the most emotional because everybody that we met this season has been through so much,” France said.
Queer Eye, which is a reboot of the original Bravo series, films in different locations — with special editions as far away as Japan — to help transform the lives of everyday people with their expertise in culture, food, fashion, grooming, and home improvement. This time, France, along with cast members Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Karamo Brown, Bobby Berk, and Jonathan Van Ness, landed in Austin to resume filming just two months after the state went through one of the worst natural disasters in nearly a century.
You might remember Texas making national headlines back in February when the state was hit by record-low temperatures leaving more than three million people without power and causing nearly 200 deaths. Many Texans, particularly businesses and homeowners, were left to deal with the repercussions of the storm that left costly flood damage due to burst pipes. But the storm is part of what made this season “so interesting and unique,” according to France.
“Texas was incredible,” he said. “I had never experienced Austin for longer than a few hours, so that was amazing. And in my opinion, you’re going to love the season — I think it’s the best one yet.”
France, one of mainstream TV’s few openly gay Muslim men, also found the upcoming season personally “eye-opening” when it comes to helping people with different skin issues. In fact, one of the featured contestants has eczema, a hereditary condition that’s characterized by itchy, dry, rough, flakey, inflamed, and irritated skin.
“Whenever I dress somebody for the show, I’m usually having to factor in their body shape, what they have as their personal preferences, but I’ve never had to deal with any kind of skin issue that they may have,” he told us.
For France, the issue is also a personal one. His cousin has eczema, something he admittedly didn’t quite understand as a kid, but he’s now hoping to educate others through a new initiative called “The Now Me,” which seeks to empower those living with the condition to be more comfortable with their own skin.
“We all take for granted that we can put clothes on — anything on — that’s going to make us feel great, but there is this community of people who haven’t felt comfortable,” he told us.
When it comes to fashion, France is all about embracing clothes that inspire a sense of confidence, adding that he “couldn’t care less about a trend.” And having got his start by working in his grandfather’s denim factory as a kid, France knows clothes.
“Regardless of what you’ve been through, I want everybody to feel like the better version of them and to feel inspired,” he said.
