Tan France

Tanveer Wasim "Tan" France (né Safdar; born 20 April 1983) is an English-American fashion designer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is best known as the fashion expert for the Netflix series Queer Eye, host of the web series Dressing Funny, and co-host of Next In Fashion. His memoir, Naturally Tan, was released in June 2019. Being of Pakistani descent, he is one of the first openly gay South Asian men on a major show, and one of the first openly gay Muslim men on western television. Early life France was born Tanveer Wasim Safdar in Doncaster on 20 April 1983, the son of Muslim Pakistani immigrant parents. In his memoir, he discussed how he felt alienated while growing up in Doncaster due to his experience in a household where homosexuality was viewed negatively, the lack of representation in media of his community (and of LGBTQ Pakistanis in particular), and his personal experiences of physical and verbal racism in his childhood and adult life. He said, "Our home wasn't super religious but we had a profound connection to our Muslim heritage." France's interest in fashion began at a young age, inspired by the Disney-themed clothing that was made in his grandparents' denim factory in Bury, Greater Manchester, where he spent time working. By the age of 13, he had learned how to construct and embellish a denim jacket. In 2019, he learned that his grandfather had allegedly been forced to close the factory due to the products made in the factory being Disney knockoffs. He attended Hall Cross School and later studied fashion at Doncaster College, after which he moved to Manchester, and then to London. Career France began work as a designer and director for Zara, Selfridges, and Bershka, among other retailers, to further improve his knowledge of the wholesale business of retail; he later went on to work at a number of brands in order to learn more about manufacturing. He started in menswear and later progressed in womenswear, which he majored in for his fashion degree. France commented that he would often work as a stylist if a high-profile client came into the stores where he was working.