Tan France Talks ‘Bittersweet’ Ending of ‘Queer Eye’ and Using Fashion to Reduce Stigma About Obesity (Exclusive)

Tan France is using his experience in fashion way beyond styling. Now, the Queer Eye staple is partnering with Lilly, the makers of Zepbound, for the Changing the Thread Collection™, the first collection of its kind featuring clothing as a canvas for sharing the science, the struggles and the accomplishments along an obesity journey. Each piece, from scrubs to a swimsuit, is embroidered with stories from people living with obesity. Through these stitched narratives, the collection aims to help “unthread” bias and spark a cultural shift that treats obesity as a chronic disease deserving of understanding and treatment. 

Zepbound® (ZEHP-bownd) (tirzepatide) is an injectable prescription medicine that may help adults with: obesity, or some adults with overweight who also have weight-related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off; and moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and obesity to improve their OSA. It should be used with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. 

With Queer Eye coming to an end with its forthcoming 10th and final season, France is ensuring he is using his passion for purpose. He spoke with PopCulture about the partnership with Zepbound, Queer Eye, and what’s next. We also spoke with obsestity specialist Dr. Clara Lee. 

Now you’ve partnered with Zepbound. How did this partnership come to be?

TF: So easy, first off, I’m an advocate for anyone living with obesity, all living with obesity. I’ve worked on Queer Eye now for 10 years, 9 years. But before that, ever since I was a kid, my family has lived with obesity, and so I’ve been around this for my entire life. And so when I found out that Zepbound wanted me to partner with them on this Changing the Third Collection, it was the easiest yes for me. It means that we get to hopefully change the stigma around obesity and quash that, and open it up for conversation. And so, they reached out to my team and asked if I would consider it, and absolutely 100%.

CL: So I’m an obesity specialist, and one of the reasons for my motivation was being able to help many people. It’s such a pervasive medical problem, and what I realized is that obesity, the stigma and bias is so rampant in the obesity space that is hindering people living with obesity from getting the help that they deserve and need. And so that’s the inspiration for all of this – that one of the biggest challenges to having people and giving people the permission to talk about obesity and maybe even discuss diagnosis, treatment, all the things – and the care that goes with obesity is not being done because of the stigma and bias, and that’s the main purpose of this campaign to address that and to unthread that.

Now, as a fashion guru, Tan, you work with people in all walks of life, of all sizes. But there’s still bias in the fashion world for people who are not of what is considered a standard size, and this partnership combats that. Talk to us about the significance of this partnership and the new wave that it can create for true inclusivity.

TF: There’s so much that I love about the the campaign Changing The Threads is that we had an exhibit in New York, gosh I was it last month, maybe it was the month before, who knows, a few weeks ago, and I was so moved by it. I worked with a girl called Nita who is an advocate for this campaign also, and watching or looking at this collection, there were messages or stories embroidered onto each one of these garments that told a true story of a patient who has used Zepbound and what they’ve been through and somebody who’s lived with obesity for quite some time and what they’ve experienced. 

And as you mentioned, I do work in fashion and style is exceptionally important to me, and I’ve always seen clothing as a tool. It can tell a story, and as far as I’ve always been concerned, everyone deserves to show up as themselves completely without any kind of shame or apology, and that is what this campaign offers, that’s what we’re pushing for. So when it comes to fashion, or style, it’s so important. I don’t want anyone to feel burdened when they consider what they’re wearing, I want them to feel free enough to express themselves.

Tan, talk to us about some of the designs you use, that you chose in the collection, and in terms of fabrics and patterns, your selection process and why.

TF: To be fair, I did not select any of the garments that were presented in the collection.

But I see why certain garments were chosen and why certain garments hinder many who live with obesity. The common stories I hear, and on any of the shows I work on, but also in real life, and people stop me on the street a lot to ask me advice, which is always lovely.

But it is sometimes quite difficult to be able to give somebody a lifetime of advice in one moment, but so much of it is centered around what makes you feel the way you want to feel, what helps you express yourself the way you want to express yourself. 

And so seeing so many of the garments on display for the exhibit, it was clear that they were cocoons. They were just a way to hide themselves. And that’s a really common thread that we see, no pun intended, a really common thread that we see throughout the campaign is the stories we’re hearing from people are, ‘I wanted to hide. I didn’t want people to see me. I didn’t want people to look at me, and so my clothing was armed. It was just a cocoon to hide away.’ And obviously, busy patterns are distracting. So, what I’m pushing for is to wear the things that make you feel good regardless of your size, and let’s change the conversation. Let’s push for greater openness and understanding when it comes to those living with obesity.

Now, the campaign also pushes for people to actually educate themselves on obesity. Dr. Lee, what are some of the common misconceptions about obesity that are running rampant?

CL: Yeah, thanks for that question. So, a lot of people are still thinking that obesity is a personal choice and that it’s all about what you eat or whether you exercise. But years of science clearly shows that this is a chronic disease with multiple factors at play. It’s how your biology interacts with the environment and many other factors that really lead to the disease. 

So as you can imagine, diet and exercise alone is often inadequate. And just like any other chronic disease, it really has to be a combination. You should talk to the provider to discuss what other additional tools that you can use to effectively treat the chronic disease of obesity because diet and exercise alone is not going to cut it for many people, even though it’s a foundational aspect.

This also comes at a time where weight loss drugs and assistance measures are so popular. There is still a lot of research going on in that world, but what are your thoughts about those trends Dr. Lee?

CL: I appreciate that there’s more discussions and awareness around obesity, but we also want to make sure that this is evidence-based and it’s driven by science that we have the patient and health in mind when we are having this discussion. So I think that’s the hope I have that we talk about obesity as a chronic disease and instead of thinking about silver bullets and shortcut sort of solutions, we ought to think about long-term management as the cornerstone of successful management of obesity.

How can people learn more about the partnership and the collection that is available?

TF: Easy. Go to changingthethreadcollection.com. Even if you are somebody who does not live with obesity, I just want to encourage everyone to look at this website and to understand what stories are being told, and the experience that people have so we get a greater understanding and that we can reframe how we talk about obesity. And so I would encourage everyone, please, even if you’ve got three minutes, five minutes, please check out the website. The stories are so moving.

Now Tan, we know that Queer Eye is returning for its 10th and final season. Talk to us about your journey on the show and its ending and what it means to the culture after so many years and big historical moments for you guys in terms of Emmy wins and the impact that the show has had.

TF: So I’m so grateful for the show. It’s bittersweet that it’s coming to an end, but after 10 seasons, technically 11, because we did a season in Japan – after 11 seasons, it is time to spread my wings. I’m very grateful for the show, but I’m also glad that we are getting to a point now where, I feel we’ve done, or I feel I’ve done, I’ll speak for myself, have done all I can in that space. 

However, one of the things that I feel really proud of is opening up conversations like this. I don’t think that this partnership with Zepbound would have happened without Queer Eye, I don’t think people would confide in me about their struggles with dressing, and their style because of their struggles with obesity, so what lasting impact is the lasting impact for me is that people trust me enough and trusted me enough to be able to share their greatest fears and sorrows for me to be able to assist them, and it’s something that I hold very dear to me, that I got to do that for a living. I don’t think many people in this world get to say that their legacy was helping people, and I get to say that that was mine.

What does the Fab Five represent to you?

TF: Kindness, openness, understanding, and hopefully positive change.