Hip American style king Carson Kressley — famous for improving the appearance of men on Queer Eye For The Straight Guy — is focusing on women, at last! Carson, 38, is hosting new series How To Look Good Naked, helping women to feel more attractive. He tells Woman’s Day why we don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.
Is it fun being a celebrity?
It’s fabulous! When people come and tell me that Look Good Naked or Queer Eye has given them confidence and they feel better about themselves, I feel great. And I also love getting a great table at a restaurant!
Any more movies coming up?
I just did one, Sordid Lives, which Olivia Newton-John is in too, though sadly I didn’t get to meet her. And I’m in another, Duck Farm 13, a coming-of-age movie in which I play a Christian camp leader — and I am very camp!
You’re horse-mad. Do horses keep you sane?
Absolutely. When you’re out mucking the stalls, brushing them, riding them, you forget everything else. Horses were in my life long before this fame stuff and they’ll be there long after it’s gone too.
Is it harder for you to style a woman than a man?
Yes, so much harder. Because a woman has a clue. In Queer Eye, I was just happy if the man was clean. Women all read fashion magazines, and they’re aware about trends. But the flip side of this awareness is they’ve been bombarded with plastic surgery advertisements and pictures of supermodels. So they all want to look like that, and it’s so unrealistic.
So you have to make them accepting?
I tell them, “You don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.” It takes us three or four days and you have to keep reinforcing this message. It’s like a crash course in learning how to love and accept yourself.
What have you learnt about women since doing the show?
I never realised there were so many women who are unhappy with their bodies. Surveys show four out of five are apparently unhappy — they think they’re too tall, too bony, whatever.
What if the person is overweight and really would look better if they lost a few kilos?
Well we still say to them, “Somebody’s got to love you so it may as well start with you!” Once they start feeling better towards themselves then they want to have a healthier lifestyle.
For more of this interview, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on sale May 5).
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