By the end of the 1980s, Franks had built a reputation as a colourful and flamboyant personality, and was well known for her adventurous fashion sense, regularly embracing spiritual and new age trends and frequently associating with high-profile celebrities, designers and figures across the fashion and entertainment industries. It has been claimed that the character Edina Monsoon in the UK sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous" (created by Jennifer Saunders, a long-time friend and frequent associate of Franks) was intended to be a satirised version of Franks during this period. This claim was denied by Saunders.