BIBI's Fashion with A Purpose
Nazneen Akhter

Bibi Russel, one of the prominent fashion icons in Bangladesh comes from a very cultural family. Her father known as Sadhu bhai (Late Mokhlesur Rahman) - and mother Rose apa were very prominent personalities in media world. Born in Chittagong, Russel completed her B.S.C from Home Economics College, Dhaka before departing for London to study Fashion designing.

Bibi was the first woman from Bangladesh to study at the London College of Fashion. When she graduated in 1975 she modeled her own graduation show, she was immediately offered modeling assignments with Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld and Giorgio Armani. Bibi is 5'10'' tall and debuted her modeling career in 1976. From 1986 to 1992, she was dominating as a top model in Vogue, Haper's Bazaar and Cosmopolitan magazines. Bibi was model for almost all popular products, such as Kodak, Channel, BMW, Toyota, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Giorgio Armani etc. and did catwalk on the stage with almost all top models of the world such as Naomi, Claudia etc.

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In 1990 she returned to Dhaka to realize a long held ambition to build an international reputation for locally crafted textiles by promoting traditional Bangladeshi fabrics, Khadi and Jamdani. Starting her business with the small loans from Grameen Bank, Bibi now employs 35,000 people, consisting of knitters and artisans that produce her original designs. Of late she has been named "UNESCO Special Envoy: Designer for Development". UNESCO Director General Federico Mayor announced the name in recognition of Bibi Russel's commitment to welfare of weavers of Bangladesh and her devotion to the promotion of traditional crafts in the cause of human dignity, development and eradication of poverty.

In recent years she has worked in Europe and Bangladesh using culture and creativity of her fashion designs to elevate the image of Bangladesh. Her work has revived the handloom weaving industry in Bangladesh. Operating under the slogan of Fashion for Development she has demonstrated how local weavers and artisans can use their skills to achieve economic stability. Bibi's productions have provided work for 35,000 weavers and with the support of UNESCO has staged three major shows in Europe. The most recent of these was Stars of Bangladesh which was presented jointly with the British Fashion Council during London Fashion Week in September 1998. Bibi Russell became a Fellow of the London Institute in 1999.

Bibi made her US debut earlier November 1998 at the closing ceremonies of the State of the World Forum, a six-day gathering of activists and global decision makers. Young Bangladeshi models strutted to folk songs and ghazals before a backdrop draped in hand loomed Bangla silk sarees at the San Francisco show. Sporty looks loose hooded silk shirts over khadi-inspired pants, and whimsical village getups viewed for attention with graceful skirts tied with yards of multi-textured silk. A white wedding dress, shown with stylized Hindu wedding headgear and a sheer veil inventively tied at the shoulders drew cheers and gasps from the audience. On 8 March 1999 Bibi received Women Awards 1999, at El Palauet Luca, Barcelona. Organized by FIDEM, and supported by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. Vogue and Women's Wear Daily were among the media present at Bibi Russell's San Francisco show, catapulting Russell's village-made designs into the international arena. Bibi Productions, the company Russell founded, is about more than rich textiles and luxe embroidery - the 35,000 weavers and tailors it employs are an inspiring example of micro financing. "Culture and creativity is linked to development," Russell told India-West after the show. "All the fabric you saw today was woven in the villages; all the shoes, even the buttons, were handmade by villagers."

Courtesy: www.bangladeshshowbiz.com