About

The Early Years

Born and raised in New York, Bethann grew up in pre-gentrified Bedford-Stuyvestant splitting time between her mother and grandmother who were domestics and her father who was a respected Muslim leader and supervisor at the local housing authority and a respected Muslim leader who worked alongside Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. After graduating from George W. Wingate High School where she became the first African-American cheerleader, she attended the New York University Art School and the Fashion Institute of Technology.

The Model

Bethann’s career in fashion began in the 60s at Cabot a custom button factory in New York's Garment District. From there, she went on to work for Ruth Manchester Ltd. a junior dress company. Bethann would go on to become the first Black salesperson in a showroom. One day while delivering samples for an upcoming fashion show to Bernie Ozer, the head of the junior dress department for Federated Stores, she told him, "If you really want a great show, you'll have me in it." Bernie would go on to book Bethann for the show marking the beginning of her modeling career. Shortly thereafter, in 1967, she was discovered by designer Willi Smith and became his fitting model and muse. This led to runway and print work for other designers such as Anne Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Issey Miyake, Ungaro, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, and Claude Montana. Along with Beverly Johnson, Iman and Pat Cleveland, Bethann broke new ground for models of color in the industry as one of a handful of Black models in the early 1970s favored by top European and New York designers, appearing in fashion spreads for Allure, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar. In 1973, she became one of the first Black models to walk a European runway when she was cast in the historic Battle of Versailles. Conceived by famed fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert and Gerald Van der Kemp, the event began as a fundraiser for the restoration of the Palace of Versailles. The competition that emerged between five American designers and France’s lions of haute couture catapulted American designers and models of color onto the world stage. It was Hardison, one of the eleven models of color, and her contemporaries whose uninhibited, energetic performance helped the U.S. designers steal the show. At the end of the runway, Bethann threw the train of her dress to the ground, stood still and defiantly stared into the audience. The crowd filled with celebrities and the social elite went wild, cheering, stomping and tossing their programs into the air signaling the Americans' victory over the French. 

During her successful stint as a model Bethann also worked as a design assistant to Stephen Burrows who was one of the American designers she walked for in The Battle of Versailles. She would eventually go on to run his studio. Throughout the mid to late 70s, Bethann continued her transition from model to businesswoman as a freelance creative director and producer for Kansai Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, and Valentino Couture. 

The AGENT

In 1980 Bethann joined the newly formed Click Models where she helped revolutionized the modeling industry. During her tenure at Click she represented a teenage Whitney Houston, Talisa Soto, Isabella Rossellini, Tahnee Welch, Elle Macpherson, and Grace Jones. From the beginning, Click redefined the image of the model by providing an alternative to the Nordic blonde-haired, blue-eyed standard of beauty that had dominated fashion, popularized by legacy agencies such as Ford and Wilhemina. Click became known for unconventional beauties representing female models with "odd" or "exotic" looks. Their male models were the rugged, athletic all-American jock on the one hand and on the other they introduced a new sensuous, ambiguous masculinity represented by models such as Attila von Somogyi - both of which represented a major departure from the formal gentleman that dominated the industry for decades prior. This shift, which had started in 1978, gained momentum with the founding of Click elevating male models from mere props to front and center for the first time. Collectively on the men's and women's front, this new look which Bethann was instrumental in developing, became the defining image of the iconography for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Perry Ellis, the agency's top clients. 

In 1984, Bethann left Click and formed her own namesake agency Bethann Management where she continued challenging prevailing notions of beauty with specific focus on diversifying the fashion industry. Her company opened its doors with 16 models. Nearly 50% were African-Americans. The agency eventually grew to represent 35 models, including white, Black, Latin, and Asian men and women. Veronica Webb, one of Bethann's early discoveries, continued to break barriers for models of colors with clients such as Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Calvin Klein, Kenzo, Issey Miyake, Vogue Italia, Elle, and Marie Claire. Veronica would go on to become the first African-American to land a major cosmetics contract. Bethann again made fashion history by signing Tyson Beckford, who would quickly become the most famous male model in history, to an exclusive contract with designer Ralph Lauren. It was the first contract of its kind ever to be given to a Black male model. Bethann Management's roster also included Bethann's son Kadeem Hardison who starred in the iconic 90s sitcom "A Different World," Bonnie Berman, Josie Borain, Roshumba, Kimora Lee Simons, singer Brandy, T-Boz from TLC, and Treach from Naughty by Nature.