Bethann Hardison, Photo: Grazia daily
Bethann Hardison began modeling in the late 1960s, after that she worked as a modeling agent for Click before starting her own agency, Bethann Management, in 1984. In the New York Times she describes it as a “white agency”, but it also represented many models of color.
In the late 90s, the new fashion trend had shifted from highly individualized models towards more clonelike casting. At this point, Hardison created the Diversity Coalition, which included concerned industry professionals at all levels and of all races.
In 2013 the Coalition launched a campaign to end racism on the runway. Along with a memo posted on the website Balance Diversity, Hardison sent out open letters to the CFDA, British Fashion Council, the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana in Milan and the Fédération Française de la Couture du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers and Créateurs de Mode in Paris, where she criticized the industry for its casting of primarily white models. In the letter, she publicly called out several designers whom, the season before, used zero or only one model of color. The designers included Calvin Klein, Prada, Rag & Bone, Versace, Celine, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, among many others. In her letter, Hardison did not shy away from using strong language to make her point come across. She called out designers who had consistently used all white models in their shows and campaigns, calling it being “guilty of [a] racist act”. Notably, all of them increased the number of models-of-color in their cast.
Now, that Black models are getting their long-awaited presence on the runways, Hardison has turned her attention to educating fashion brands on racial sensitivity. More recently, Gucci recruited Hardison for her insights, after the backlash for a balaclava sweater that some found racially offensive. In the wake of this scandal, Gucci announced Gucci Changemakers, which is a global program that supports diversity and inclusion through a $5 million fund and a $1.5 million scholarship program. Board members include Bethann Hardison, PMM Agency CEO Kim Blackwell, Michaela Angela Davis, Dapper Dan, and many more.
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