Invisible Beauty
Directed by Bethann Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng

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“Is an image of a woman committed to nurturing community within a relatively hostile context.”—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter

Invisible Beauty shines a spotlight on the singular and unapologetic Bethann Hardison, a pioneering Black model who broke into the white-dominated fashion industry decades before Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks.

The first Black woman to own a modeling agency, Hardison called out major brands like Prada and Calvin Klein for their exclusionary casting calls (“No Blacks, no ethnics”) and rallied her colleagues to advance change in the industry.

Featuring on-screen tributes from notable figures like Iman, Tracee Ellis Ross, Zendaya, and Fran Lebowitz, this film is an absorbing record of the racial evolution of fashion, and a paean to an unsung hero. In tandem with co-director Frédéric Tcheng (Halston, Dior and I), Hardison reflects on her personal journey and the cost of being a trailblazer, radical thinker, and leader to call out the lack of racial diversity in fashion. A selection of the Sundance Film Festival. 2023, U.S., DCP, 115 minutes. Recommended for 12+.