Queer Eye star Tan France loves watching his two sons grow up, even if they have very different interests from his own.
“My eldest is three [and] he’s obsessed with trucks [and] trains,” France, 41, exclusively told Us Weekly, referring to son Ismail, on Thursday, July 18, while discussing his partnership with Williams Sonoma and No Kid Hungry. “He is such a boy boy; I was not a boy boy. I was obsessed with Barbie dolls.”
Neither Tan nor his husband, Rob France, “really understand” Ismail’s extensive questions.
“It has to do with speed and always a vehicle,” Tan quipped, adding that Ismail also has a specific way to organize his cars and trucks. “He lines them all up and then moves them across the room and lines them up over there, then he’ll grab his excavator and put them all on an excavator or a dump truck. He’s just truck-obsessed.”
Tan and Rob, 45, welcomed Ismail via surrogate in July 2021. Their second son, Isaac, arrived via gestational carrier in May 2023.
“This is going to sound so cheese, but [Isaac is] just obsessed with me, and I will take it,” Tan gushed on Thursday. “He’s only 1. I’m his favorite thing in the world, and that is my favorite thing in the world.”
Parenthood inspired Tan’s partnership with Williams Sonoma and nonprofit No Kid Hungry, in which he designed a limited edition spatula for the 10th anniversary of the brand’s “Tools for Change” initiative. Williams Sonoma will donate 30 percent of the proceeds of the spatulas, which have also been designed by the likes of Cameron Diaz and Valerie Bertinelli, to No Kid Hungry.
“Being a parent myself, [Williams Sonoma] thought that I would be interested in this initiative,” Tan told Us. “[They have] been doing this partnership with No Kid Hungry for quite some time through Tools For Change. They have entertainers, chefs, whatever, or people from all cultural walks of life, design a spatula for sale. It was something that I’m desperately passionate about because I have children. I know what it feels like to desperately care for their well-being.”
Tan wanted his design to pay homage to his favorite food: Roti, a Pakistani flatbread that resembles Indian naan bread.
“I was like, ‘If we could find a way to come up with a stack of naans, that would be great,’” the fashion stylist said. “[The design team] went away and came up with something that I love. They also asked about my favorite colors. One of my favorite colors is green [and] most of my house is green. They made it feel very much like me.”
With reporting by Travis Cronin
