Bibi Russell is a Bangladeshi fashion designer and former international model.

Career

Russell was born in 1950 in Chittagong,

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

to Mokhlessur Rahman and Shamsun Nahar. She grew up in Dhaka studying in

Kamrunnessa Govt Girls High School Kamrunnessa Government Girls High School is a public secondary school for girls in Tikatuli, Dhaka. History Kamrunnessa Government Girls High School was originally established as a branch of Eden College and it was separated from the college in 19 ...

and Later College of Home Economics, Azimpur, Dhaka. She earned a graduate degree in fashion from London College of Fashion in 1975. In the next five years, she worked as a model for different magazines including

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

and Harper's Bazaar. She also worked as a fashion model in fashion shows until 1994, working with Yves Saint Laurent,

Kenzo is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

and Giorgio Armani. Returning to Bangladesh in 1994, Russell opened a fashion house named Bibi Productions, which fused indigenous Bengali cultural elements into her design. As of 2004, her company employed 35,000 weavers in rural

Fashion shows

With

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

support, Bibi Russell organized her first European fashion show (pioneering event by an South Asian female) in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1996. She also organized fashion show, ''The Colours of Bangladesh'', in Spain in 1997. In 2016, she participated in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

at India Runway Week seventh edition where she presented her latest collection on

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

khadi Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi as ''swadeshi'' (self-sufficiency) for the freedom struggle of the Indian subcontinent, and the term is used throughout India, Pakistan ...

. Bibi's collection was celebrated by the

fashion industry Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashio ...

. Recently (in year 2016 & 18), she showcased her collection for the opening show at the third biggest

fashion week A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashio ...

, Indian Federation for Fashion Development's India Runway Week Season 7.

Filmography

Moner Manush ''Moner Manush'' ( bn, মনের মানুষ, lit=Ideal Person) is a 2010 India-Bangladesh joint venture Bengali-language biographical musical drama film based on the life and philosophy of Lalon, a noted spiritual leader, poet and fol ...

(2009)

Awards

* Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Costume Design - 2009 for

*Russell was rewarded ''Cross of Officer of the Order of Queen Isabella'' by the King of Spain. It was presented by Spanish Ambassador to Bangladesh, Arturo Perez Martinez. Russell is also a Fellow of

Bangla Academy The Bangla Academy ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি, ) is an autonomous institution funded by the Bangladesh government to foster the Bengali language, literature and culture, to develop and implement national language policy and to d ...

. The

Asiaweek ''Asiaweek'' was an English-language news magazine focusing on Asia, published weekly by Asiaweek Limited, a subsidiary of Time Inc. Based in Hong Kong, it was established in 1975, and ceased publication with its 7 December 2001 issue due to a ...

magazine highlighted her as "One of the 20 people to watch in the Millennium". She was awarded the ''Honorary Fellowship'' of the London Institute in 1999. UNESCO awarded her the title ''Designer for Development'' in 1999. She also got the title of ''Artist for Peace'' by the UNESCO in 2001 and the ''Peace Prize'' by the United Nations Associations of Spain in 2004.

References

External links

Tribute to Bibi Russell and Fashion for Development ProjectUNESCO Wide Angle interview: "Bibi Russell: handicrafts people have magic in their fingers"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Bibi Living people Bangladeshi female models People from Chittagong Bangladeshi businesspeople Honorary Fellows of Bangla Academy Recipients of Begum Rokeya Padak Bangladeshi fashion Bangladeshi fashion designers Fashion stylists Best Costume Design National Film Award (Bangladesh) winners 1950 births Bangladeshi costume designers Bangladeshi women fashion designers