By- Ritesh Kumar
Jan 30, 2023
The Battle of Versailles was a runway show that pitted French designers against American ones,
a David and Goliath situation between couture royalty and new-world entrants.
What the Americans lacked in theatrics and set design, however, they made up for in personality.
Out of the 36 models America invited to walk, 10 of them were Black — an unprecedented number for the industry (then and, quite truthfully, now).
Among them was Bethann Hardison, who speaks of the experience in Invisible Beauty, a documentary she co-directed with Frédéric Tcheng
“I knew that these people thought that we were less,” Hardison said of the French spectators in attendance.
“The more I walk, the harder and stronger and more intense I become with an attitude.”