Tan France is known for his empowering work on Netflix's hit series, Queer Eye. His ability to transform the way people view themselves through fashion is nothing short of life-changing. Fans of the show have seen the impact of Tan's work in the past five seasons of the series and now, Tan is taking his empowering work from Netflix to a new project, The Now Me.
Diply had the opportunity to sit down with Tan, and one of the patients, Jennifer, who has been working alongside the project.
Tan France, along with the other members of the New Fab Five (Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, and Jonathan Van Ness) have transformed the lives of hundreds of people with their expertise.
Tan is now taking his styling and confidence tips for The Now Me - a new project, from Sanofi and Regeneron, to help support the 1.6 million Americans struggling with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema.
"This program is to help empower people with moderate to severe eczema, feel comfortable with their skin, and it is basically an extension of what I do on Queer Eye. On Queer Eye, I'm doing all I can to make people feel their very best, to empower them, and to hopefully help them live the best version of their life — whatever that might be — and so I was presented with this opportunity to help people, and I think it's a lovely one I love this campaign very much."
"I'm excited to be a part of this program. It's a great way to share a positive message," Jennifer smiled, explaining that she grew up in central Florida, where summertime meant swimming pools with harsh chemicals that irritated her skin.
"I was kind of the oddball hiding in the shade with long sleeves and pants on, trying to keep myself covered and I feel like now, now that I found a treatment that's working so well for me and helping to manage my eczema symptoms."
"Growing up with this skin, a lot of people just considered it to be a rash," Jennifer explained. "It affects so many different things for instance I'm up all night, itching and scratching. My skin was always the center of focus, especially when I was out with my children, I had to think about things like packing my own sheets to take to the hotel.”
The Now Me project has positively impacted Jennifer, and the other patients working alongside the campaign.
"I feel like the white shirt is a clean canvas," Jennifer explained. "It's my opportunity to have a fresh start in my life, my picture on this clean slate, and to make it what I want to be."
In addition to making those with eczema embrace the skin they're in, Tan hopes this campaign will bring awareness to those who think atopic dermatitis is "just a rash."
He went on to explain that in an episode from the upcoming sixth season of Queer Eye, he faced something he hadn't yet faced in his time on the show — a hero with severe eczema. After taking her to a vintage store and asking her to try on a cream-colored garment, she insisted she could not try it on due to her skin condition.
"We had a full-blown conversation about what it is to have eczema. How it's impacting her life and what that means for her clothing, what she can wear," Tan explained. "So when they told me as part of this Now Me campaign that their white t-shirt is significant I understood exactly why. Light colors, white colors are not usually an option because people with moderate to severe eczema often do have oozing and bleeding and so they don't see this as an option for themselves."
After nearly a two-year break, the Fab Five were eager to be reunited. "I think we were all just desperate to get back," Tan smiled. "I've known those idiots for four and a half years and I'd seen them pretty much every week for two and a half of those years, so to go cold turkey was bizarre."
As for what fans can expect, Tan revealed that this upcoming season is, in his opinion, "the funniest season" and that he experienced more emotions than ever before. Fans of the series will know the 38-year-old has only cried in two episodes over the course of five seasons.
"I cry every episode other than one," he admitted. "This season got me, and it's going to get you. It's because we're not just helping families this time, we're helping so many communities because we wanted to really do something big after people started coming out of social distancing and lockdown."
"People keep telling me I should be nervous — I'm not! I've waited for this since I was 16, 17. I've always, always wanted to be a parent, I've got loads of nieces and nephews. I got my first niece when I was 13 and she lived in the house with us. I've been obsessed with babies for years."
As for which member of the Fab Five would be the best caretaker, he revealed he's previously said Bobby ("he would be very meticulous") however, Tan believes it would be Antoni. "He's a very emotional boy, he loves babies."
Despite having so much on the go this summer, it's clear Tan will always make time to help others embrace the skin they're in. Helping others is what he loves to do, and judging by the smile on Jennifer's face, Tan is nothing short of exceptional at it.
Make sure to get some more information on the campaign by visiting TheNowMe.com.
