Bethann Hardison Continues Push For Racial Diversity On The Runway, Sends New Letter; HuffingtonPost.com. 2/5/14

Julee Wilson, HuffingtonPost.com; Bethann Hardison Continues Push For Racial Diversity On The Runway, Sends New Letter:

"Hardison is optimistic about the forthcoming season.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what happens -- I'm hopeful," she told The Huffington Post. "Diversity is just good for the world. And images have much more power than words. When people start putting those colorful images out and people of power start standing behind them, it starts to create a paradigm shift. And I believe it can happen."

Hardison pointed to prominent examples of increased diversity in magazines and advertisements. She praised the designer Prabal Gurung, who just launched his debut ad campaign, featuring the black supermodel Liya Kebede. She also singled out Vogue’s January 2014 issue, calling it a "brilliant example of organic diversity" that featured several fashion editorials with models of color and stories showing celebrities like Idris Elba and Lupita Nyong'o. Hardison said that she met with Vogue staff members in November, after the January issue had been pulled together, to discuss the importance of diversity in the fashion world.

In an effort to provide more guidance for the industry in terms of promoting diversity, Hardison and the Diversity Coalition also submitted a list of best practices to Diane von Furstenberg and Steven Kolb, the president and chief executive officer, respectively, of the Council of Fashion Designers of America."