Bethann Hardison on Pushing Fashion Forward and Toward “Complete Diversity”

Bethann Hardison has, with great finesse, risen to become among the most vital voices in fashion. A self-described “advocate” who currently serves as Gucci’s executive advisor for global equity and cultural engagement, the former model and agent is a powerhouse figure who has not only reshaped conversations around diversity and anti-racism industry-wide, but has actively pushed for and, in turn, made change in terms of representation, from advertising campaigns to editorial shoots to runway shows.

Hardison brings a nuanced, lived approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion, one that is wholly her own, and one that she has practiced from a young age. With subtle (and sometimes, not-so-subtle) force—and through projects such as the Black Girls Coalition, which she co-founded in 1988 with her friend the model Iman, and the Diversity Coalition, which she started in 2013 by calling out certain brands for not using any models of color in their runway shows—Hardison has stepped up again and again, speaking truth to power, against what was, and in some respects remains, a long, ongoing lack of representation. This work has earned her a matriarchal place in the upper echelons of the fashion world, with recognitions such as the 2014 CFDA Founder’s Award. Hardison is currently at work on a memoir about her life, and a documentary about her path to fashion and diversity work by the filmmaker and director Frédéric Tcheng is also underway.

On this episode, she talks with Spencer about her “queen-ager” energy, her glass-half-full philosophies around death and dying, her efforts to call out fashion industry racism, and her rational, deep-seated concerns for the future.

Special thanks to our Season 5 sponsor, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts.

Show notes:

• Full transcript
• bethannhardison.com
• @bethannhardison 
• [29:07] CFDA Founder’s Award
• [51:32] “The Battle of Versailles” runway show
• [51:43] The October 1974 cover of Essence
• [55:54] Issey Miyake and Twelve Black Girls
• [01:00:36] Black Girls Coalition
• [01:19:00] The “All-Black” issue of Italian Vogue