SoHarlem’s Fashion Week show and pop-up shop benefit, held last weekend in Manhattanville’s Factory District, was a complete success. This year’s honoree was fashion industry icon Bethann Hardison.
With a successful career that has spanned more than five decades, Bethann Hardison is an advocate, documentarian, model, and muse. We met while I was working as a fashion copywriter at Essence magazine in the early 1970s. A hard worker, she’s one of the famous Versailles models who opened the Paris runway in the ‘70s for American designers, with such talents as Stephen Burrows, Halston, and others, while stirring fashion news in New York City’s Garment District. With her stylish individual runway presence, she starred and was sought after as a model in Europe and the U.S. Throughout her career, she has been a determined businesswoman. As a professional model, no one walked that runway or posed better. It was all about the walk, the clothes, the body, and the look. These were the attributes that every one of those 1970s Black models had, that was all their own.
One of the first Black models favored by European and New York designers, Bethann Hardison has also worked as a creative director and producer. She topped that and opened her namesake modeling agency in 1984 where she guided the careers of some of the most prominent models. In 1988, she founded the Black Girls Coalition, and in 2013, she spearheaded the launch of the Diversity Coalition, sparking an industry-wide movement for diversity and inclusion. In 2018, she founded The Designers Hub to guide and empower Black designers, and the following year she became an inaugural member of Gucci’s Changemakers Council.
Jumping to 2023, Bethann made her directorial debut with “Invisible Beauty,” which she co-directed with Frédéric Tcheng. The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and has since been featured worldwide in more than two dozen film festivals. It is now streaming on Hulu and most major digital platforms. Hardison’s numerous awards include the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Founder’s Award, and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary Film. Currently, Bethann serves on the CFDA’s Board of Directors and as Gucci’s Executive Advisor for Global Equity and Cultural Engagement. Being recognized in Harlem by SoHarlem is special, and something else for her to put on her shelf.
Talk about a fashion celebration: the fashion show was fabulous! SoHarlem’s Spring/Summer ’25 collections were colorful, stylish, and sustainable. Many of the works were created at SoHarlem’s studio on Amsterdam Avenue. The show “I’m So Harlem” also featured design apprentice Walter Dixon. The models were superb.
In the fashion show and pop-up shop, Olivia Smashun designed one of the best dresses for her Blue Olive brand. For day or evening, Blue Olive’s v-neck caftan dress with a crisscross front looked fashionably comfortable. Fabrics are imported from Nigeria; color combinations and sizes vary. Depending on the occasion, it can be worn with or without jewelry. Olivia, the designer, is a Harlem resident who moved to New York from Charleston, South Carolina. Her prices start at $195, and her line is available at @blueoliveresort on Instagram, and at www.blueoliveresort.com.
Javier Valencia, a Harlem designer from Ecuador, has lived and worked in Harlem since 2018. He creates high-end fashion that’s made to measure, ready-to-wear. For men and women, his custom-made digital print collection ranges from boldly printed men’s hooded jackets to detailed, elegant women’s cocktail dresses in fabrics imported from Korea. Javier’s printed fabrics are created from digital photos. Prices start at $60. His collection is available on Instagram at @Javiervelencia36.
Jewelry designer Donna Drew’s breathtaking jewelry was beautifully displayed at the pop-up shop in a glass showcase. With prices starting at $40 to $200, you must see these precious pieces. Her collection includes necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and several upcycled pieces. Her focus is sustainability. Find her line on Instagram at Triangle Designs, LLC. For more information, visit www.SoHarlem.org.