Back to All Events

Invisible Beauty

  • Maysles 343 Malcolm X Boulevard New York, NY, 10027 United States (map)

IN CINEMA

Invisible Beauty
Tickets: $15 General Admission / $7 Reduced Price 
Thursday, December 7th at 7PM

Bethann Hardison, Frédéric Tcheng, 2023, 115 min.

The essential memoir of fashion pioneer Bethann Hardison, INVISIBLE BEAUTY shines a spotlight on one of the fashion industry’s most influential icons who, as a pioneering Black model, modeling agent and entrepreneur, has pushed the boundaries of fashion culture and has been at the forefront of progress throughout her career. In her lifetime, the singular and unapologetic Hardison has seen the pendulum swing toward and away from the Black model. At every setback, she spoke up and rallied her colleagues and clients in the industry to advance change. Now in her 70s, the Brooklyn native is writing her memoir, taking stock of her own legacy at a moment when the fashion industry is shaken by a racial reckoning. INVISIBLE BEAUTY, co-directed by Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng (Dior and I, Halston), traces her impact on fashion from runway shows in the 1970s to roundtables about the lack of racial diversity in the early 2000s. Featuring intimate interviews with luminaries including Iman, Tyson Beckford, Tracee Ellis Ross, Zendaya, Fran Lebowitz, Pat Cleveland, Naomi Campbell, and Stephen Burrows, INVISIBLE BEAUTY is an absorbing record of the racial evolution of fashion and an original contemplation on the life of an unparalleled trailblazer.

Hosted by filmmakers Kim Snyder and Catherine Gund

Post-screening discussion with filmmaker Frédéric Tcheng and Bethnne Hardison (via Zoom), moderated by Claude Grunitzky of The Equity Alliance.

Reception with light refreshments to follow!

Earlier Event: December 6
Black Girls Play
Later Event: December 8
Good Enough Mother