Bethann Hardison walks the walk – on the runway and when it comes to making a difference.
The model, agent and self-proclaimed “revolutionary” has been struggling for representation in the fashion industry. After modeling in the 70s and working as an agent – with her own agency – in the 80s and 90s, she was called upon to step up her efforts and become a bigger voice in the industry.
She founded the Black Girls Coalition in 1988 with her model husband and best friend Iman to provide advocacy and support for black models, and she is part of People’s Women Changing the World.
She told PEOPLE that the influx of white models onto the runways in the ’90s continued to fuel her mission. Hardison, 80, has written an open letter to the Council of Fashion Designers of America, as well as the most powerful groups in Europe, “demanding fashion” in her quest to gain representation.
In her letters, she called out these governing bodies for enabling an industry that had no place for people of color. “I listed all the guilty designers, and then sent it to the press,” she said. “It was basically: if you continue to use the same model [of color] Or two, postseason, regardless of the outcome, is racism.
Hardison, who started her fight for models of color, has expanded her representation efforts to include designers and brands that “don’t get the chance to be seen.” Now she is the subject of a new documentary film Invisible beautyDedicated to her career in fashion.
The documentary focuses on Hardison’s decades-long journey, which largely began at the point where she realized that casting agents were closing the door to models of color. “They were saying no black, no race,” Hardison tells PEOPLE, something she’s seen happen over and over again.
“It’s not deep for me to hear that,” Hardison says, noting that as a “physical” job, it was common at the time for castings to look for models based on skin color or hair color. “I had to use it to show others what rabbit hole we were going down. It was becoming consistent, and that was the problem.”
Never miss a story – subscribe PeopleFree weekly newspaper To deliver the biggest news to your inbox every Friday.
Hardison said he goes every season and “the market hasn’t been good.”
After leaving the agency, Hardison received a call from Naomi Campbell in the late ’90s, pleading with her to come back and help with racial concerns. She quickly realized that this fight was more than before.
“It was a huge scale,” says Hardison. “This has become global.”
Over the years, Hardison has continued to fight for representation – it can be seen in Invisible beauty – but she’s taken a step back from the modeling industry, which she says has “improved a lot”.
“It’s going in that direction of total integration,” she says. “I know they are working and have been for the last two years.”
An inspiration to many, Hardison says other women who have paved the way have helped her stay motivated.
“Sometimes people say, ‘Aren’t you scared?’ They call me,” she says. “But it was always inspired by fearless people.”
Someone like Harriet Tubman immediately comes to mind for Hardison. But she finds inspiration in Toni Morrison, Lena Horne, Josephine Baker and Nancy Pelosi, as well as people she sees as part of the next generation of changemakers, including Aurora James, Kendrick Lamar and Harry Styles.
“There are people like that, who you admire from afar, who remind you that you have no fear,” Hardison said. “They help our society move forward in a positive way and make people happy.”
