Oscar winner Ruth Carter, top fashion model Beverly Johnson, and fashion designer to the stars Kevan Hall, were just a few of the legends that braved chilly temperatures and winter storms to celebrate the 54th NAACP Image Awards event, Images: Fashion Moments in Time, in Los Angeles on Thursday, February 23, 2023.

P-Valley star Brandee Evans hosted the luncheon and fashion show. The show also gave out awards in the makeup, hairstyling and costume design categories. The event’s winners included Camille Friend (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) for Outstanding Hairstyling (Television or Film); Debi Young, Sandra Linn, Ngozi Olandu Young, Gina Bateman (We Own This City) for Outstanding Make-up (Television or Film); and Ruth Carter (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) for Outstanding Costume Design (Television or Film).

Carter, who was the recipient of the Vanguard award last year, walked the carpet with a young African designer, Osadayi Ohanmu, the winner of the “Ruth Carter: Icons of Afrofuture Dress Challenge,” showcasing and welcoming the next generation of Black designing talent.

The NAACP Image Awards honored fashion trailblazer, muse and activist, Bethann Hardison with a Vanguard Award.

The former model and activist is the focus of a documentary, Invisible Beauty, which launched at Sundance this year. It traces her path in breaking barriers and demanding inclusion and representation in the field of fashion, not only on the runway but also in the world of advertising and magazines. The proliferation of Black models on covers, runways and billboards can be traced to Hardison’s work.

In 2018, with the support of the CFDA, she founded The Designer’s Hub to guide and empower Black designers, and in 2019 became an inaugural member of Gucci’s Changemakers Council. Hardison currently serves on the CFDA’s Board of Directors and as Gucci’s Executive Advisor for Global Equity and Cultural Engagement.

Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP commented, “We commend Bethann for utilizing her platform to consistently champion diversity within the fashion industry.” The love and respect were evident in the rousing ovation the crowd extended to her as they rose to their feet in homage.

Johnson went on to note: “Art in all of its forms has a significant influence on the next generation. Art is activism.” He reminded the audience that “public policy is informed by how we are seen on the screen . . . the narrative is informed by the styles that we wear. There is protest in creativity.”

The invitation-only event showcased looks by the Black Design Collective, an accomplished group of fashion industry professionals that promote scholarship, mentorship, and entrepreneurship within emerging generations of Black costume and fashion designers.

The featured designers put on a spectacular fashion show that highlighted the following themes:

• Byron Lars (In Earnest) Theme: Harlem Renaissance.
• Kevan Hall –  (Kevan Hall Designs, BDC co-founder, and former Design and Creative Director at Halston) – Theme: Motown Effect
• Kutula – Theme: Tribal Beauty of Africa
• House of Aama: Theme – Black Resort Communities
• Charles Harbison – Theme: Connecting to Nature
• Cross Colours – Theme: Celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop
• Kenneth Nicholson – Theme: Grandmother’s Couch

The production also featured pumping music and dancers interpreting the pain of black oppression through modern dance.