FashionAFRICANA features activist, model Bethann Hardison
Since 2001, FashionAFRICANA has been working to expand the way we think about beauty and celebrate the African diaspora through fashion, dance and the arts.
Over the years, that’s meant fashion shows, art exhibitions, artist markets and events just for kids from cofounders Demeatria Boccella and Darnell McLaurin. Now, they’re adding a speaker series.
On Wednesday, FashionAFRICANA will welcome activist and former model Bethann Hardison to Pittsburgh to kick off the series. The event is presented in partnership with The Frick Pittsburgh in Point Breeze as part of programming surrounding the exhibition “Undressed: A History of Fashion in Underwear.” The talk will take place in The Frick auditorium.
Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Ms. Hardison worked in sales in Manhattan’s Garment District in the 1960s. She was spotted by prominent fashion designer Willi Smith, an encounter that led to the start of her modeling career. In the 1970s, she broke barriers as an African-American model by appearing in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar magazines.
In November 1973, Ms. Hardison was among the models in the Battle of Versailles, the historic fashion show in France that pitted French designers against American ones, who were not highly regarded overseas at the time. The U.S. designers featured nearly a dozen models of color, unprecedented at the time.
Ms. Hardison went on to run her own modeling agency, helping to pioneer the careers of Tyson Beckford and others. These days, she’s known for her work with the Diversity Coalition, an initiative that aims to broaden the kinds of models cast in fashion shows and ad campaigns. In 2014, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored her with its prestigious Founders Award.
In a recent phone interview, she spoke humbly of her accomplishments. She said she worked as a model simply to provide for her son, actor and director Kadeem Hardison. Her advocacy work, however, was a calling.
“There’s a tirelessness that does exist within me,” she says. “Even I am taken aback sometimes by my continuance and the fact that I keep having visions.”
When a bridal magazine routinely featured only white models, Ms. Hardison pointed out, “You do know black girls get married, too.” And when designers called her agency looking to cast one black model for a show with 30 white ones, she’d ask, “Do you see how inappropriate that is?” In 2013, she made headlines when the Diversity Coalition penned open letters to the governing bodies of fashion weeks in New York, London, Paris and Milan, highlighting which designers included one or no models of color in their shows.
“That’s all you can do is try to keep educating,” she said.
In New York, at least, she has seen progress. At New York Fashion Week in September, nearly 37 percent of models cast were nonwhite, the most in recent history, according to The Fashion Spot’s latest diversity report. Ms. Hardison gives it a B+.
“I see activity, I see movement,” she said. “I always want to see more.”
She’d also like to see more diversity behind the scenes, from editors to buyers. But people don’t have to be fashion influencers to make a difference, she said.
“Energy creates energy. As long as people are conscious [of the importance of diversity] and it can be a conversation, that’s when we’re in a better place.”
At the event Wednesday, Ms. Hardison’s talk will be preceded by remarks from Lonie Haynes, vice president of diversity and inclusion for Highmark, and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Jim Rooney, who will speak on the NFL’s Rooney Rule. Karin Legato of Emphatics, a fashion boutique Downtown for 50 years, will speak on Ms. Hardison’s influence in fashion.
Ms. Boccella is finalizing the schedule of speakers for 2018, but is looking to bring in models, photographers, designers and industry executives.
“I want to inform and inspire,” she says. The goal is “to create a sacred space where people feel inspired and comfortable enough to share their stories and to open up and connect.”
Other events
• Jumpstart your holiday shopping at a free Gallery of Gifts vendor and craft fair sponsored by the Duquesne University Women’s Guild. From 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in the university’s student union. Browse and buy jewelry, clothing, cosmetics, home decor, fragrances, sweet treats, pet items, handmade crafts and more. The event supports scholarships for students in need. This year, the group marks its 90th year. Information: duq.edu/service/duquesnewomens
• The Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh presents an evening with Tereneh Mosley from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at the Sixth Presbyterian Church, 1688 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. The Pittsburghbased designer will share the story of her fashion line Idia’Dega, which collaborates with the Olorgesailie Maasai women’s artisan group in Kenya and artisans from the Oneida Indian Nation in New York. Suggested donation is $5; admission is freefor guild members.