Where & When: Laemmle Royal, West Los Angeles, CA. September 28, 2023 7:00 PM
You may not be familiar with the name Bethann Hardison unless you're really intrigued by the inner workings of the fashion world. And Hardison's story would be fascinating enough with her being an unassuming African American woman from Bed-Stuy who managed to beat the odds at the time by becoming a popular international model then going on to start her own successful modeling agency. But what the documentary, "Invisible Beauty", co-directed by Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng, brings into focus is what the former model has become best known and greatly admired for by many who work in the style industry: her outspoken activism in fearlessly challenging the status quo and being extremely vocal in regard to how the business over the years has inadequately dealt with race, more than willing to call individuals out by name when necessary.
Born and raised in New York City, Hardison attended FIT and NYU Tisch School of the Arts before landing a job as seller in the garment district. Her life would make a dramatic change after meeting designer, Willi Smith, the man behind the whimsical fashion line, WilliWear and would go on to be regarded as one of the most successful African American designers after his passing in 1987 from complications of AIDS. First becoming his fit model, Hardison smoothly transitioned into working in front of the camera.
A highlight of her modeling career came when she was a part of the largely African American models who came to France in 1973 for the Battle of Versailles Fashion Show, a fund-raising, face-off event between French and American designers. While the French had an elaborate yet stiff presentation, the Americans (which included Oscar de la Renta, Halston and Anne Klein) only had the models to display their clothes on the runway which they did with a carefree style and exuberance, bringing the audience wildly to their feet.
By 1981, Hardison changed her focus from modeling to becoming a model booking agent. Three years later, she formed the Bethann Management Agency which represented a diverse range of models that most agencies probably would never have considered. Some of the beautiful faces that Hardison repped included Roshumba, Kimora Lee Simons, Veronica Webb (who became the first African American model to land a major cosmetics contract) and Tyson Beckford, one of the world's most famous male models who enjoyed a long, exclusive contract with designer Ralph Lauren.
And it was around this time that Hardison went on to form Black Girls Coalition with fellow former model, Iman to celebrate these women, uplifting and guiding these models to give back to the community. Later she became a major force not long after the turn of the century when the industry went backwards by actively not using models of color. Hardison quickly went to work organizing a town hall meeting to address this lack of diversity in fashion and advertising.
Originally, Hardison wanted to make a film about the fashion industry but people around her wisely suggested she narrow her focus. She teamed up with Tcheng, who has a history of creating captivating documentaries on important figures in fashion (Valentino, Diana Vreeland, Halston) and together came up with the concept to shape "Invisible Beauty" around her struggle to write her memoir, allowing this film to organically reflect back on her life.
Hardison married young and briefly, having a son, Kadeem who would become known as an actor, appearing in "The Cosby Show" spin-off sitcom, "A Different World". She's aware that she never achieved a perfect balance between her career and motherhood, leaving her relationship with her son today complicated and, at times, strained. Yet Hardison is maternal and nurturing, caring for the young models that came her way, mentoring and offering her home as shelter when needed.
"Invisible Beauty" is an inspirational document which details of a life well-lived. Hardison is certainly filled with contradictions yet she's a generous spirit who offered her experiences and created opportunities to made sure that those who followed after her could also benefit to have an equal and fair chance to flourish in the arduous fashion business.
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