Bethann Hardison
Bethann Hardison became one of fashion’s most influential forces by refusing to accept the industry as it was. A pioneering model, agent, and activist, she spent decades reshaping fashion’s standards from both inside and outside the room.
She first gained prominence after the 1973 Battle of Versailles, a landmark fashion event that introduced several Black models to an international audience. At a time when Black women were rarely seen on runways and in magazines, Hardison’s work with Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Anne Klein, and Oscar de la Renta helped shift the industry simply by being seen.
In the ’80s, she launched her own modeling agency and guided the careers of era-defining models, including Tyson Beckford, Veronica Webb, and Naomi Campbell. But her most lasting impact came through advocacy. In 1988, she founded the Black Girls Coalition to challenge the industry’s exclusion of Black models and designers. Two decades later, she expanded her work with the Diversity Coalition, publicly calling out brands that failed to cast models of color.
Long before diversity became a marketing strategy, Hardison treated it as an industry responsibility. And she kept speaking up until fashion had to respond.
