In the 1960s, Bethann Hardison worked as a garment industry salesgirl. In the 1970s, she was an international runway model and assistant to some of the most important designers of the decade. In 1984, Bethann founded her own agency and became responsible for scouting, launching and managing some of the most famous models of our time, many of them black – Naomi Campbell, Veronica Webb and Tyson Beckford to name a few. In the 1987, Bethann became an activist outright, founding the Black Girls Coalition with her close friend Iman (Bethann was her maid of honor when she married David Bowie). As famous for her vitality and her straight-shooting spirit as she is for her beauty and business know-how, Bethann Hardison is a force to be reckoned with. Sheding light to the lack of diversity on the runways in recent years in her new documentary project Invisible Beauty, Bethann Hardison additionaly served as a contributing editor to the now infamous Vogue Italia, "black" issue.

The principal aspect of my style

Comfort. I think style has to be that. I appear to comfortable and I am comfortable- It’s not about tearing a tear-sheet out of a magazine and where you become so removed from the look that it becomes unnatural and looks uncomfortable.

The quality that I desire in a shoe.

In the early part of my life it was just for it to last. In the later part of my life it was the ability that you could walk in it : “use of it” and how can I get around town. As my life changes, my needs have changed.

The quality that I desire in a bag.

I think that quality that I desire most is the compartments and how the bag feels. Everything for me is to the touch, it’s the quality of the leather and the durability of it.

What inspires me most

Dancing. Well, it’s the thing that makes me the happiest. One someone says “ oh have fun!”The only time I ever known that word” fun “could apply to is when I am dancing. The way that I dance is that go around the whole floor—I use my skirt I use my clothes when I dance and it comes a lot from Latin dances that require you to use certain types of movement.

What I appreciate most about my closet.

The desire to keep it minimal. I am always thinking how can I get rid of things.

What is your dream purchase?

A great apartment in the Bronx—ownership in NYC—I own properties in a lot of places. I am born and raised there. The simplistic and the quality of life.

What is your dream fashion purchase?

Yves Saint Laurent coat and shoes. The coat is a vintage item a few years back and it was something I wore for a photo shoot (editorial promotion in American Vogue) with Annie Lebovitz with Iman for Iman’s book “I am Iman.”
It’s a coat dress that fits like a dress and moves like dress but it has the weight of the coat. The skirting is fluid. As for the shoes, the thing that stands out is a YSL is a great high “high heel” shoes. When standing in YSL heels, they always has a platform so you could take the support and so you never felt like you were towering over your feet and it balanced you. It is the most brilliant concept.

Whose style do you admire?

Simply, Cameron Diaz. I like simplicity. I like people who look like they dress themselves and they don’t have a stylist. It looks like it’s really coming from her. Everything she used to wear back in the day, she was that girl that had her own natural style and it works. She for me came to mind of the top of my head. Then there is also, Betty Catroux and her concept of uniform. I love not thinking about clothing and simplify and minimalist. I like the fact that you can wear a smoking suit and you can wear over and over again and it looks amazing.

For men’s style I have to say Tyson Beckford and its very casual . A lot of people look like they look they know what’s going on ---they follow more so than lead and he sets a standard of thing and people will follow. Its natural and he steps to it earnestly. From a female to a male its cool. Being first is easy but being the something that is not easy first is not.

The city where you live.

New York City

Your favorite colour.

Blue—it’s always been a midnight blues, navy etc.

The scent or perfume that I like

Lavender and light note of Patchouli

My favorite authors.

Ronald Dahl and Gabriel Garcia Marquez

My favorite stores.

Comme des Garcons , Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake in New York and I don’t like the Disney style stores—I think it’s a dis’ to the real deal.

My heroes in fashion.

A have a few. First, Willi Smith because he was at a young age become the first junior sportswear designer do have both editorial success and street success. You could see “Willi wear” everywhere, it was true street fashion and you don’t really see that consistency all the time anymore with where two and three times (in the early 1960) a day you could see someone walking down the street wearing Willie Smith.

Stephen Burrows because he was the most original designer in the concepts of things and he did things that no one had done before and when we did Versailles show, Yves Saint Laurent said that he was the true American designer. To be so original and to have survived over time and again to have a comeback is phenomenal. I admire him forever. Talented. I am lucky to have worked with both of them.

Yves Saint Laurent, because I knew him in a time period where he used conservative clothes in a new way and he made things updated and made them feel young and sassy. I admire him for his innovation in presenting things. In his menswear shows he would use Marion Womble to open and close each show and it was so natural. He was the difference of seeing the chic model versus the natural person walking down the street.

Naomi Campbell for being the dire hard fashion model, the muse that never died. And the fact that she has the courage and the power and the strength and power that she has commitment to fashion and she is consistently putting it on and keeping it earnest and because of it because real fashion remains committed her.
My favorite music. Latin music. And rock and roll I will always love rock and roll.

My heroes in real life.

My father, Amer Hassan ,my mother Sophie Hardison grandmother Carrie Hudson and I like someone Shirley Chisholm—I like the fact that she got on the train and made a difference and dared to believe that she could be president. Fidel Castro because any one who is a revolutionary and put things in force is a hero; putting the politics aside it is about his vision and winning.

My style hero/heroines in history.

Lena Horne, she was someone starred in films that were in color and you saw had a twinkle in eye and the way she rolled her hips. Actually, everyone in this time period of the 1950s looked great. It was the time period where I grew up, where everyone had style—even when they didn’t have money there was something that they could pull something together. It was real and I could relate to the classic shoes, lace up, Cuban heel, and the quarter band.

My favorite designer.

I have a few, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Rei Kawakubo from Comme de Garcons, and Marc Jacobs. I could name more but I like them for a lot of reasons

What I hate most of all in style.

The “urban look” that won’t go away. I don’t want to see another athletic shirt on a man that is 30 or 40 years old acting like he’s on an team wearing a jersey and he has a pot belly. I don’t know why that train has not pulled out the train.

What is the city where you feel most at home.

Home is where I lay my head—its where I am.

My present state of mind.

Is the notion that I change what other people think.

My style mantra

Bohemian Classic but always looking to be simple.