Her first catwalk modelling was at the request of the fashion designer Chester Weinberg, who was supportive and encouraging despite the negative responses from the audience who were not accustomed to Hardison's style.

[6][7] Along with Beverly Johnson, Iman, and Pat Cleveland, Hardison broke barriers in the 1970s appearing in Allure, Harper's Bazaar, and Vogue.

[1] Hardison then joined Click, a startup modeling agency, in 1980, as a booking agent where she produced fashion shows, handled public relations for design houses, and became a contributing editor at several magazines.

Concerned with the politics of the fashion industry, Hardison changed her focus from modeling to activism in 1981.

[8] In 2023, Hardison, along with co-director Frédéric Tcheng, released Invisible Beauty, a documentary about her career and activism.