Inher2023 documentary, Invisible Beauty, Bethann Hardison recognizes living history by being the embodiment of it. She knows the firsts and the lasts. She knows the models, the campaigns and the covers. She knows the designers and the movements that have made the fashion industry what it is today because she was part of so much of it.
But memory is fleeting as historic firsts get lost in time. Every new generation reimagines the past differently. In an interview with HuffPost, Hardison pointed out how some young people will ask her about the paucity of Black models, believing that they are few and far between, not realizing that there have always been Black people at fashions forefront.
[They are] not looking or not aware and ask, Do you think theres ever going to be Black models doing this? and dont realize that it already happened, she said, when I spoke to her at 2024s Leading Women Defined conference in Dana Point, California. They get misconstrued and say the wrong thing thats not accurate. Theres this misconception that at one point there used to be no Black designers, but there were. Theyll say that Ralph Lauren never had any Black models before Tyson Beckford came along, but there were.
That confusion is rooted in a truth. Fashion can be unfair. Fashion is not for the faint of heart. Its a very difficult business, Hardison told me. Its always been tough. Always been tight. Its always had designers of color in it. It comes and goes in waves in who can really stand the test of time and be noticed.
Hardison was more than noticed at Leading Women Defined, an exclusive and highly curated leadership event for women of color that was founded by former BET chief executive Debra L. Lee. This was Hardisons fifth appearance at the summit, which was held for the 15th time Feb. 29 through March 4.
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