WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – Carson Kressley began his career in fashion, working for Ralph Lauren in New York City, when an opportunity arose that would ultimately change his life. A co-worker told him about hearing a commercial on the radio while riding in a taxi, and she said that TV producers were looking for five gay men with specific expertise to make a straight man. The series would end up being called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
“I tell people all the time, a calculated risk is a big thing,” Kressley says of calling the producers, auditioning for the role of fashion savant and eventually landing as one of the original “Fab Five.” “I was young, I didn’t have a lot of responsibilities and I had a fantastic support system. To the credit of the people in Ralph Lauren, my boss said ‘Oh, you should try doing this TV show and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll just hire you back.’ I was like ‘Whaaaaat?’ That was the kind of supportive boss that I was lucky enough to have and be able to do.”
the original QEFTSG ran for five seasons (2003-2007) on Bravo TV, winning Emmy Awards in 2004 for Kressley and co-hosts Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia and Jai Rodriguez. The show’s success not only launched Kressley’s media career, he says it also became an important milestone for the LGBTQ community.
“We had no idea it would have such an impact,” Kressley said. “Honestly, I just wanted to get rid of the mullet and the folded khakis. We were just there doing our jobs. Being authentic I think is really important and we were having a great time. A wonderful byproduct of that is, families would watch together, and young people would say, ‘Oh, I feel comfortable coming out to my family because we watched the show together and had a dialogue about the coming out process,’ or whatever else. It just made life a little easier for young people, because maybe for the first time they saw someone like them represented on screen. I am very lucky to have had this opportunity, and with (RuPaul’s) Drag Race right now I am very lucky to have had this opportunity The Queer Eye twenty years ago and both have been great blessings to me.”
The 52-year-old Pennsylvania native, and with great praise The Gettysburg College graduate has since gone on to host television shows about fashion and design, and has guest-starred on several other shows, including RuPaul’s Drag Race, Celebrity Big Brother AND Famous student. He is also the author of several best-selling books and has launched clothing lines for men and women. All these achievements were made possible, at least in part, by the confidence that Kressley gained with the success of The Queer Eye.
“We all have it inside, but we just sometimes have to listen to it for that validation,” Kressley said. “I call the theory ‘Ignorance is bliss’. I didn’t know I couldn’t be on TV, so I thought ‘Why not?’ I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to design clothes, or write best-selling books. But I just took the plunge and it worked. Like saying ‘Yes!’ to The Queer Eyeand leave my excellent job at Ralph Lauren, perhaps he seemed a little careless. But it worked.”
Kressley is coming to Wilmington on October 7, 2022, when he will host a fundraising brunch starting at 11 a.m. at the Country Club of Landfall to benefit Welcome home Angel, an organization that renovates living spaces for children in southeastern North Carolina who are chronically ill, injured or disabled, to improve the lives of children and their families. Kresli heard for the first time about the mission behind Welcome home Angel by Meg Caswell, WHA Board President and HGTV Season 6 Winner Design Starwhen she appeared in Lying with Carson Kressley, his show that aired Design Network. With brunches postponed the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things worked out this year for Kressley to attend and emcee.
“Welcome home Angel is such a wonderful organization, providing better living spaces for children who are recovering from an illness or going through a challenging life experience,” Kressley said. “Having a beautiful place to live, a place that works and it’s clean and efficient, it can really change their outcome. Meg Caswell is a great friend and she’s also relentless. I wanted to support Meg and I wanted to support the kids. I know firsthand how much impact it can be your living space. I’ve done so many makeover shows where we change a kitchen, or make an accessible bathroom, or redo someone’s bedroom and make it theirs. It changes their life for the better. So I knew we could make a big impact with this charity.”
To learn more details about the fundraising luncheon that Carson Kressley will be attending Welcome home Angel on October 7, you can click here. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Carson Kressley and support the WHA organization if you can.
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