Fashion Giant: Bethann Hardison

If you are of a certain age, one of your favourite TV characters may have been Dwayne Wayne from the 90s American TV sitcom, A Different World. 

Dwayne Wayne was played by actor Kadeem Hardison. On this occasion, we’re not going to talk too much about Kadeem, but rather his mother Bethann whom we think is pretty amazing.

Hardison, currently editor-at-large at Vogue Italia online, is a towering figure within the world of fashion. She grew up in New York in a devout Muslim family and became the first African-American salesperson to work in a New York City garment district showroom in the 60s. After a chance meeting with the designer Willi Smith, she became part of a gaggle of coloured models who took the world by storm back in the 1970s.

During her modelling career, the New York native framed the clothes of many top European and American designers as well as appearing in fashion spreads in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Iman, Beverley Johnson and Pat Cleveland were among Hardison’s contemporaries on the catwalk.

Hardison, however, is better known for her work after she wrapped up her career on the runway. She became an agent first with a company called Click before setting up her own modelling agency Bethann Management in 1984. One of her early successes was the 80s supermodel Veronica Webb who went on to win a very much coveted multi-million dollar contract with Revlon.

Veronica Webb

Remember Ralph Lauren poster boy, Tyson Beckford? He’s another protégé of Hardison.  He wasn’t just the first black male supermodel; he was the first male supermodel full stop.

British supermodel, Naomi Campbell is another who owes her start in the fashion industry to the wonder touch of Hardison. But the 65-year-old has been so much more than an agent; she has championed the cause of people of colour in fashion.

Liya Kebede, Iman, Bethann, Naomi

In 1988, she set up a pressure group, the Black Girls Coalition with her great friend Iman (She was maid of honour at the Sudanese model’s wedding to David Bowie).

Bethann Hardison by Bruce Weber

After running her agency for 21 years, Hardison sold up and headed for a great retirement. But as the fortune of models of colour continued to decline, the 63-year-old was forced to return, this time as a spokesperson.  She is particularly disappointed about the lack of brown-skinned models on the catwalk and in magazine spreads, particularly after the heyday of the 70s.

Bethann (left) with Daniele Morera and Stephen Burrows 

“Once you’ve climbed to the top of the mountain you don’t expect to be back at the bottom again. It’s like once you’ve seen Paris it’s hard to go back to the farm. We had been there, we had achieved all this,” Hardison told London’s Guardian newspaper back in 2008. 

Hardison (left) strutting on the catwalk

In addition to all her campaigning, Hardison has a hugely influential role within Vogue Italia.  She is very much the inspiration behind Vogue Black, which as its name suggests promotes all things black in the world of fashion.

The Hemp Revival

We love ethical fashion and are enjoying the rise and rise of hemp as a fabric. And we think the folds at the back at this Versace hemp-silk evening dress are just luscious!

Versace hemp-silk evening dress

Hemp has traditionally suffered because of its association with cannabis and hippies. Remarkably, the cultivation of the plant has been banned in America since the Fifties.


The fabric is sustainable, lasts longer, becomes softer and more comfortable the longer you use it. Those who suffer from allergies will love it as no pesticides are used in the farming of hemp. 

That’s in sharp contrast to many people's fabric of choice, cotton, which sucks up 50% of all pesticides used in farming in the United States – even though the crop only takes up 1% of farmland.  

In comparison to cotton, hemp is warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer and more durable. More and more designers are being drawn to hemp because of its low impact on the environment. Hemp fibres are known for being highly absorbent, UV resistant, antimicrobial and long-lasting.

It’s no surprise that the vegetarian Stella McCartney is at the forefront of those designers embracing hemp. These smashing espadrilles remind us of the summer days to come.

Stella McCartney's hemp espadrilles

Versace, Donna Karan, Vera Wang, Armani and Ralph Lauren are all dabbling with the fabric. This outfit has all the distinctiveness of the Vera Wang touch. The American designer has used hemp-silk fabric to very fine effect here.

  Vera Wang's organic hemp-silk skirt and bustier

We're also keeping our eye on Enamore who produce eco-friendly underwear.

Linda Loudermilk is one of the leaders in ethical fashion. In fact, Elle magazine have dubbed her the 'Vivienne Westwood of eco'. Here's a sample of some of her work. Delightfully edgy is what we call it.

Designs of Linda Loudermilk, one of the leaders in eco-fashion

It also seems like U2 lead singer, Bono has roped his wife into his attempt to save the world. Ali Hewson has set up her own ethical label Edun.

What do you make of hemp and the ethical fashion movement? Are you keen to adopt it or do you think it is passing fad?

A quest for personal style

Here we have a girl (just so you know, I'm going to be referring to myself in the third person for this post) who is just beginning to understand out who she is. As a freshman in college, she occupies that strange territory between girl and woman. She is not such a fan of college, actually. Not even a little bit. For one thing, she is confused as to why her peers believe The Gap is the epitone of style. She tries to protest by not having a single item from The Gap in her closet. Take the suede jacket she's wearing in the photo, for instance. Purchased at The Salvation Army for $7, this jacket encompasses everything she believes in. It's vintage, so as far as she's concerned, it's the only one available, anywhere. It's solidly constructed. She spent nearly two hours unearthing it, digging through layers of double-knit polyester shirts, high-waisted jeans, and oppressively smelly office softball-team tee shirts, which means that it represents hard work and dedication.


This girl is very very proud of the fact that she manages to be (what she considers) stylish while working with what she makes while babysitting. However, she doesn't feel all that confident because all the cool kids wear clothes from The Gap, and don't get her at all. 


Fast forward a bit. This girl has graduated college, gotten married, had children. She starts to think that maybe The Gap isn't that bad at all. Slowly she begins to incorporate button-downs and khakis and argyle into her wardrobe, and before you know it, all of her vintage pieces are gone, to cousins or her mother or friends or back to The Salvation Army, where some other desperate college student is willing to take them off her hands.


She forgets how much she loved thrifting, the excitement she felt when excavating a vintage embroidered sweater from the fifties, the perfect pair of Levis 501's, a mesh link handbag. And then she finds herself living in Iowa, where malls are far and few and a Goodwill is steps from her door. On day, feeling brave and flush with courage, she goes in, and her passion for thrifting is reborn. She become absolutely engrossed with pilfering thrift stores. With every item she brings home, her heart jumps a bit. Then she moves to Texas, and she searches for more. She learns how to blend her things from The Gap with finds from Goodwill. And, in the end, she discovers her own personal style. 

Sometimes this girl puts her clothes on in the morning and thinks, yeah, I feel great! Other days, she takes a picture and isn't pleased at all. And so she tries again. It's a long process, this personal style thing. But she's starting to get the hang of it.

Forever 21 peacoat; Ralph lauren cashmere sweater; Gap button-down; Gap Outlet jeggings; vintage Justin boots,; Anthropologie necklace.

Polo Sport Ralph Lauren

Size L

Made in China

Condition A

Very nice design

RM40