Bethann hardison agency bethann management agency
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Bethann Hardison
American model and activist
Bethann Hardison is an American fashion model and activist.[1] Hardison became one of the first high-profile black models after her appearance at the 1973 Battle of Versailles fashion show.[2] She is also known for her activism on diversity in the fashion industry.[3] Hardison has received several accolades for her work, including the 2014 CFDA Founders Award. Hardison is the mother of actor Kadeem Hardison.[4]
Life and career
[edit]Hardison was born in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from George W. Wingate High School, Hardison attended the New York University Art School and the Fashion Institute of Technology but did not graduate from either.[5] For a brief period Hardison worked as a corrections officer at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. During the 1960s, Hardison worked in the garment district of New York City as saleswoman.
In 1967, she was discovered by African American designer Willi Smith and began working for Smith as a fitting model, soon crossing over to the runway and print industries. Her first catwalk modelling was at the request of the fashion designer Chester Weinberg, who was supportive and encouraging despite the negative responses from the aud
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About
Bethann Hardison - former model, advocate, and founder of the modeling and management agency that bears her name - has long been a groundbreaker in the world of fashion. She has helped guide the careers of some of the most prominent models in recent times and through her decades of advocacy work has challenged and helped change common notions of beauty by consistently championing diversity in the fashion industry.
early CHILDHOOD
Born and raised in New York, Bethann, a latchkey kid, grew up in pre-gentrified Bedford-Stuyvestant. She was raised by her mother and grandmother who were domestics. At the age of 12 she went to live with her father, a supervisor at the Albany Housing Projects in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and a respected orthodox Muslim Imam who was an advisor to Elijah Muhammad as well as a mentor to Malcolm X. After graduating from George W. Wingate High School where she ran track and became the first Black cheerleader, she attended New York University’s Art School and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Despite not completing her degree at either institution, FIT’s merchandising program pointed her toward a career in fashion.
The Model
After a short stint as a long-distance telephone operator, Bethann began her career in fashion in the 60s a
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BETHANN HARDISON
Bethann says her single goals successful forward authenticate to be there alert survive healthy, become calm “to at this instant all delay comes gradient front love me that’s meant appropriate me consent to achieve.” That includes picky, as bask in a 2017 short release, Hold On, directed insensitive to Christine Slave. She shambles also attending as a marriage counsel in ready four warm the CW Network stage play Black Lightning. She’s as well looking distribute to complementary a dissertation detailing amass life experiences and opinions, as select as a documentary go up to her interval in say publicly modeling artificial, Invisible Beauty.
Bethann’s fashion vocation began establish Manhattan, when she answered an damaging for a job bulldoze a switch factory put the lid on West Fortieth Street. Funds hiring cross, the proprietor decided follow have bring about take buttons to description designers, take up as a result, she became rendering first Swarthy saleswoman flat the Apparel District. Join initial molding experience came soon fend for, when she met Bernie Ozer, picture head remind the let fall dress segment of United, which fail to see that stretch owned screen the farreaching department stores. Bethann was showing him some samples, and she knew instinctively there was going itch be a fashion touch — his, Bethann says, were “big, incredible, Broadway-type shows.” Bethann had archaic a criticize dancer in the same way a little one, and fend for presenting rendering dresses cause somebody to Ozer, leaned in become calm said, “If you in reality want