For the second time in a matter of months, a Muslim fashion designer who lives in Salt Lake City is making a big impression on television.
Tan France — the British-born son of Pakistani immigrants — is one of the “Fab Five” on Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” a reboot of the 2003-07 Bravo series “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” It’s an all-new cast in a different city — the Atlanta area instead of New York.
Coincidentally, he’s following in the reality-TV-starring footsteps of fashion designer Ayana Ife, who finished second on the most recent season of “Project Runway” in November.
France, 34, is married to Rob France, whom he describes as a Mormon cowboy from Wyoming. And he told the New York Post that their seemingly very different religious upbringings gave them a lot in common.
“It made it easier to date somebody who had similarities to me. I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t smoke,” France said.
And they’ve combined Mormon and Muslim beliefs.
“We practice some of our religions’ practices. We don’t practice them all,” he said. “We practice what works for us.”
(Photo courtesy Gavin Bond/Netflix) Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness and Tan France star in “Queer Eye” on Netflix.
Ten episodes of the “Queer Eye” reboot are streaming on Netflix. According to France, the original “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” was about tolerance for gays; the reboot is about acceptance.
“We want to be accepted as your kin, your siblings, your brothers, your lovers,” he told Megyn Kelly on “The Today Show.” “We want to be treated as you would treat anybody else that you would love.”
France is the successor to Carson Kressley in the revival, offering his expert fashion advice to the straight guys who get help from the guys. But instead of taking the makeover — or “make-better” — subjects to designer stores in the Big Apple, he shops with them in vintage stores and Targets.
“It’s not easy when that’s all you’ve got to offer, but it makes it the most accessible show for people across the world,” he said on “Today.”
