For years I’ve watched Queer Eye with my wife and daughter. We love its cast and their ability to balance levity and humor with emotion and heartfelt morals. Something the three of us have agreed on is how great Antoni Porowski consistently looks. I’ve always thought it would be exceptional to have him be a part of the series. I met Porowski at his beautiful apartment and we conducted the interview in his man-cave of an office. “I’ll try to keep it detailed but succinct, which is the thing I’m worst at,” he says.
Born and raised in Montreal to Polish parents, he lived on and off in West Virginia before moving to New York, where he’s resided for about 14 years. He made the move here to go to an acting conservatory to pursue his dreams of becoming an actor. “I graduated after two years. I booked a manager. I think I had an agent,” he says waiting to deliver a cosmic punchline. “I felt like I was king of the world. Then I was an out of work actor for about nine years waiting tables at Bond Street where I worked as a runner, a server, and then a manager.”
Eventually he wanted a “normal nine-to-five,” so he started working as an assistant for his neighbor Ted Allen, who was the food and wine expert on the original airing of Queer Eye. He spent a bit of time working in the high-end vintage furniture business before a friend pushed him to try out for Queer Eye.
“I never wanted to work in food,” says Porowski. “It was something that was personal and sacred, but I was getting older and I had bills to pay. I always wanted to be in entertainment, so I decided to pivot.” Seven years and nine seasons in, it seems he made the right choice. Porowski has become a household name. Below, he and I discuss his new NatGeo show, first finding an interest in style, his upcoming appearance at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival’s Drag Brunch, and more.
Fit One
Coat by MP Massimo Piombo, sweater by Scuffers, shirt by Ralph Lauren, jeans by Jacquemus, hat by Paly Hollywood, and sneakers by Reebok.
You have a new show coming soon, right?
Yes, it’s my venture to continue storytelling through food. I’m doing it with my new second home, Nat Geo and Disney, and it’s called No Taste Like Home. We take a celebrity to their country of origin and explore their family history through the lens of food. It starts out with a dish and we go to where they came from. Then we break down all the elements and look at what was going on socially, culturally, and politically at the time, and then home in on key moments and family members.
Was there a moment when you first became interested in clothing and style?
I’ve always been drawn to fashion. Looking at early Ralph Lauren, there was something about having an entire lifestyle and an ideology wrapped up into an image I thought was so powerful. Even the old David Yurman ads were so aspirational. Kate Moss…Burberry. I was always drawn to those icons. With watches too, like Omega. I’m an ambassador for them now, but I swam growing up and their emblem was on the chronometer and that was a symbol of excellence and prestige and status, and it was something that I was always drawn to. I’ve always had very strong brand loyalty, especially for heritage brands and very specifically American brands because I was a Polish-Canadian boy living in the States and everything about being American was just the most dope and I wanted to be a part of it.
Fit Two
Jacket by Pangaia, shorts by S10, hat by Paly Hollywood, socks by Thom Browne, and shoes by On.
Do you approach your style differently when you’re working versus a standard day in your life?
One hundred percent. On Queer Eye, I definitely go a little bolder. Our first two seasons, our budget was definitely very ASOS and it shows, and I tried to incorporate some of my own pieces. At the beginning they all kind of gave us mood boards on what they wanted us to look like and they were very specific. With me, they were like, “Jeans, T-shirt, we want you as simple as humanly possible. Go for the James Dean of it all.” I started incorporating band t-shirts just to switch things up a little bit and just playing with that uniform. I’ve definitely gone with my crazy Elder Statesman cashmere sweaters as the seasons have progressed.
With No Taste Like Home, in some ways I feel like it’s less about me and it’s a little more neutral and timeless. The vibe is a bit more “traveling elegance,” so it’s a Cucinelli-esque kind of a vibe. During the pandemic, I was basically an unofficial ambassador for John Elliott. I just wore the comfiest clothing and that was my entire identity. In the past year and a half, I’ve leaned into having more fun and being a little bolder, but also staying true to who I am. I’ve always been a fan of vintage. A vintage T-shirt is always going to be better than any expensive, new T-shirt. I am obsessive, too. When I started going for wider leg jeans recently to keep up with the kids, I found Jacquemus was the perfect brand for me because they fit me around the hips perfectly. They’re wide, but not too wide. I literally wore the first pair of the blue ones that I got every single day for about five months.
Fit Three
Coat by Ten C, shirt by Paly Hollywood, vintage pants by Carhartt, vintage Burberry scarf, sunglasses by Moscot, and boots by Timberland.
What was your first significant closing purchase?
I think it was going into The Row. I walked in and there was a suit the color of French butter, barely any yellow but just cream, almost white. It happened to fit me. I didn’t need any alterations. It was perfect. I remember looking at the price and thinking, “Jesus Christ.” But I felt so good in it, and I still have that suit. The tricky thing is that it’s formal. It’s good for summers. I always want to wear it to weddings. And whenever I ask the bride, “How would you feel about me wearing white?” They’re like, “Don’t do it.” I don’t get to wear it as often as I would like to, unfortunately. That’s the one piece that still to this day I think, “I’ve never spent so much money on a piece of clothing.” But I felt so good that night.
Can you talk to me about the South Beach Wine and Food Festival? What is your involvement there?
It’s an annual event. My old boss, Ted Allen, would go every year. There are a lot of people from Food Network and different people in the food space who go there and do demos. They have all these different activations and a lot of foodies get to go to all these different kiosks which is really great. I’m still trying to figure out [what I’ll be making]. It’s either something from No Taste Like Home, or, I do this ground turkey—I love ground meat—it’s basic, but I’m obsessed. I do a ground turkey cheeseburger soup; it’s like a French onion soup take with a bit of sourdough, sharp cheddar, and bread and butter pickles. I’m going to do a little demo, get to meet some people and tell them all about No Taste Like Home.
Fit Four
Coat by The Row, vintage T-shirt, jeans by Jacquemus, hat from Ray’s, sunglasses by Renauld x James Dean, belt by Brut, and shoes by Birkenstock.
What is the Fab Five Live Tour?
Look, our family changed. We have Jeremiah Brent on board now, and he’s been crushing it. We had the best time with him in Vegas and we’re hoping for season 10. We’ve been doing this for a long time and we want to switch things up. So, we’re going to key cities and doing a live show. My description of it is a lot less eloquent than anybody else’s, but we’re going to show you how the sausage is made with a behind-the-scenes look at what happens on the show, and what we’re like, because it’s a weird phenomenon. We’re like a middle-aged boy band who’ve been sharing the same RV since day one. We’re extremely, intimately close and we’re going to get to play some fun games with some surprises, but it’s going to be a more fun laugh-filled than emotional show for a solid hour.
Fit Five
Jacket by Berluti, tourist T-shirt from Malaysia, jeans by Jonathan Simkhai, hat by Bandit Running, sneakers by Reebok x Maison Margiela, and collar (on Neon, the dog) by Filson.
If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it consist of?
Stan Smiths and an old pair of Adidas tube socks that I order from Amazon regularly whenever they wear out because they’re cheap and they last a good amount of time. Probably one of my favorite old vintage T-shirts that are all ripped up and a little messy. I would wear my 1950 Omega Constellation, which was the first one that I ever had that my ex bought me before Queer Eye. It was the reason I got the ambassadorship. They saw me wearing it on the show and it’s also just an important, beautiful piece to me. It’s my favorite watch. I’d do my Jaquemus jeans because they’re so comfy and they’re not too obnoxiously wide. Then I’d wear a Ray’s hat.
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