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

Career

Russell was born in 1950 in

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

, Bangladesh 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 1 ...

and Later

College of Home Economics, Azimpur, Dhaka Government College of Applied Human Science is a government college formerly known as the College of Home Economics. History American Ford Foundation & Oklahoma State University, USA and the government of East Pakistan started the college in t ...

. She earned a graduate degree in fashion from

London College of Fashion The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, in London, England. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses, study abroad courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therap ...

in 1975. In the next five years, she worked as a model for different magazines including Vogue, Cosmopolitan and

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

. She also worked as a fashion model in fashion shows until 1994, working with Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Karl Lagerfeld and

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expande ...

. 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 Bangladesh.

Fashion shows

With UNESCO support, Bibi Russell organized her first European fashion show (pioneering event by an South Asian female) in Paris in 1996. She also organized fashion show, ''The Colours of Bangladesh'', in Spain in 1997. In 2016, she participated in India at India Runway Week seventh edition where she presented her latest collection on Rajasthan khadi. Bibi's collection was celebrated by the Indian fashion industry. Recently (in year 2016 & 18), she showcased her collection for the opening show at the third biggest fashion week of India,

Indian Federation for Fashion Development Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

's India Runway Week Season 7.

Filmography

* Moner Manush (2009)

Awards

* Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Costume Design - 2009 for Moner Manush *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 Asiaweek 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