Bethann Hardison

2025

Advocate, documentarian, model, muse—with a career spanning over five decades, Bethann Hardison has gone from working in NYC’s Garment District, to becoming one of the first Black models favored by European and New York designers, to creative director and producer, to founding her namesake modeling and management agency. In 1988, she founded the Black Girls Coalition, and in 2013, she spearheaded the launch of the Diversity Coalition, sparking an industry-wide movement for diversity and inclusion. In recognition of her decades of advocacy work, Bethann has received numerous awards, including the CFDA’s Founder’s Award. In 2018, with the support of the CFDA, she founded The Designers Hub to guide and empower Black designers, and the following year, she became an inaugural member of Gucci’s Changemakers Council. The 2023 release of Invisible Beauty, a documentary she co-directed with Frédéric Tcheng, marked her directorial debut. Premiering at Sundance, it has since been featured in over two dozen film festivals and won several awards, including the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary. The film is now available on Hulu after an eight-week nationwide theatrical release by Magnolia Pictures. Currently, Bethann serves as Founder & Chair of her namesake 501(c)(3) foundation, as a member of the CFDA's Board of Directors, and, after five years as Gucci's Executive Advisor for Global Equity and Cultural Engagement, now holds the same position at Kering, Gucci's parent company.