Bethann Hardison Wonders Where All The Black Supermodels Have Gone
Spring '08 Fashion Week
 

bethannhardisonchaneliman.jpg
How can we really blame model-agent-mother-of-Kadeem Bethann Hardison for dumping on the newest crop of models strutting the catwalks this fashion week. You know they don't really excite us either.

We asked her opinion of young Chanel Iman, the single African-American model to grace the recent "The World's Next Top Models" cover of Vogue magazine. Surprisingly, Ms. Hardison made a gagging motion.

"I don't think she's exciting!" she shrieked. "Get me as controversial as you want, because that's who I am! I think she's very childlike. I like her—I think she's a very wonderful little girl—but there's no one exciting out there right now."

A couple of years back, Ms. Hardison was behind another, now-legendary, Vogue photo spread—organized in collaboration with the original Iman—which showcased an intergenerational coterie of black models who broke ground in the business, beginning with Iman herself, leading to Beverly Johnson, Naomi Campbell, Alek Wek, all the way to the French beauty Noémie Lenoir. Today, Ms. Hardison lamented, the pickings are slim and slimmer.

Hardison did give Wakeema Hollis a shout out, because she shows a "lil' personality." It goes a long way.

[NYO]

Comments (7)

No. 1 · carlagirl

But the poor child was even on the inside fold of this cover. We're regressing on every front…

Posted: Sep 11, 2007 at 1:20 pm
No. 2 · stacy

Am I the only one that feels ill when looking at supermodels?? Very few of them are attractive, and most of them (at least on this cover), look emaciated and like they could collapse at any moment. YUCK!!

Posted: Sep 11, 2007 at 2:06 pm
No. 3 · blackmistressdiva

Chanel Iman is not exciting at all. But most models right now aren't.

Posted: Sep 11, 2007 at 2:52 pm
No. 4 · daria

In Chanel Iman's defense, very few models are exciting or lively these days. It's the VS models (Alessandra, Adriana, Heidi, Oluchi, Marisa, etc.), the SI models (Jessica White, Oluchi, Heidi, Marisa, etc.), Naomi, Liya, Alek, Gisele and Devon Aoki. Models today are so f-ing boring that tranny-looking Gisele Bundchen gets tens of millions just because she doesn't have a vacant, soulless look.

Posted: Sep 11, 2007 at 3:21 pm
No. 5 · MsTyque

I stopped reading Vogue back when they stuck Naomi on the inside cover; its awful that they are still putting black models on the inside cover. And I agree with Daria and Blackmistressdiva, the whole SuperModel era is over.

Posted: Sep 11, 2007 at 9:10 pm
No. 6 · JillyBean819

I wouldn't look exciting either if all I had for an entire day was half of a baby carrot.

Posted: Sep 12, 2007 at 2:54 pm
No. 7 · blackmistressdiva

No. You'd pass out. Which is what a model did ON me at a photoshoot about 5 years ago. Some amazonian asian chick literally passed out while I was doing her makeup. She fell forward out of her chair onto me and kind of slammed me into the makeup station I was working at. It caught me off guard so I kind of buckled and almost took out my entire kit, but (you know me) I'm not letting some bitch knock me over and destroy my makeup, too, so I just let her fall to the ground. When she woke up all she wanted was gatorade and gummi worms from the hotel's mini-bar. She refused any food. I don't work with models much, but I hear that passing out is common.

Posted: Sep 12, 2007 at 3:50 pm
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