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“I’m happy to be doing the work I do. It means so much to me,” Hardison says. “The recognition I receive helps me realize what it means to Black people. I really realized it when people started buying Italian Vogue. We look at style and color in a different light. We give it a sophisticated look. Most Blacks don’t see that and Americans don’t have it here. Americans aren’t as sophisticated as we would like them to be.”
The look of sophistication Bethann is referring to is the natural inclusion Vogue Italia gives to models of color. In July of 2008 Vogue Italia published an issue with all Black models creating a buzz on the internet and in the publishing world. As Editor-at– Large of Vogue Italia Hardison’s responsibility is to bring new faces to the pages. It’s a job she does very well considering she was the driving force behind the success of Tyson Beckford, Naomi Campbell and Veronica Webb. Though the intrepid editor’s career was established stateside she finds something refreshing and progressive about the old country. Hardison gives credit to Editor-in-Chief Franca Sozzani who spearheaded the launch of the All Black issue.
“She sees it makes no sense and that there is not enough focus on the Black community,” Hardison explains. “She had to print the issue. She knows the internet and she knew the issue was going to sale. “
Part of Hardison’s admiration for Sozzani could be she is leading the same movement Hardison began in 1987 when she founded the Black Girl Coalition, an organization aimed to put more Black models on the runways. She took on the fashion industry and held major players accountable for the lack of color on the runways, a problem that persists more than 30 years later. In 2010, Hardison found herself at the forefront of controversy when she led talks during the 2010 February New York Fashion Week “white out,” where there are no Black models. The discussions led to the creation of Vogue Black– an online subset of Vogue Italia dedicated to those of African descent in the fashion industry.
The issue of color hits home with Tyson Beckford who says the “white out” is a real problem and needs to be addressed. He’s not as optimistic as Hardison. Beckford gives it three more years before there are no more Black models if more work isn’t done to increase their presence in the fashion industry.
“We as minorities, African-Americans and Latinos, are getting pushed out of fashion,” Beckford says. “There are no more Tyson Beckfords coming. It’s important we do more and more because we are almost obsolete.”
Hardison agrees with Beckford and makes a point to say it’s not an issue of Black and white, but rather an issue of inclusion. Hardison makes it clear it’s not about opposing the fashion industry, but it is about everyone working together.
“It’s about educating people and teaching people to be more inclusive,” she says. “When I began working I was inspired by homelessness and I wanted to celebrate Black models. I started seeing the advertising industry not respecting the consumers. I knew we could visibly change things. I wanted to show models how they can work together.“
Hardison continues to work in the industry on behalf of models of color. She recently completed the documentary Invisible Beauty, where she follows models of color. She was also featured in About Face, a documentary about models, describing the racism she faced in the 1960’s.