Bibi Russell

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

Bibi was born in Chittagong, Bangladesh to Mokhlessur Rahman and Shamsun Nahar. She grew up in Dhaka studying in Kamrunnessa Govt. Girls' High School 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, Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar.She also worked as a fashion model in fashion shows until 1994, working with Yves Saint Laurent,Kenzo, Karl Lagerfeld and Giorgio Armani.Having returned to Bangladesh in 1994, Bibi opened Bibi Productions, a fashion house, fusing indigenous Bengali cultural elements into her line. As of 2004, her company employed 35,000 weavers in rural Bangladesh.

FASHION SHOWS

With assistance from UNESCO, Bibi organized her first European fashion show in Paris in 1996. She also organized fashion show, The Colours of Bangladesh, in Spain in 1997.

AWARDS

Bibi 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. Bibi 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.

TRIBUTE TO BIBI RUSSELL AND FASHION FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Bibi Russel, the astounding model who rose to stardom in the late 70s and early 80s, now works to establish a cause that is much closer to her heart: the plight of the hand woven textile industries and their workers in her native Bangladesh. With the set up in 1995 of Bibi Productions, she has given the Bangladeshi weavers and artisans the golden opportunity to utilize their considerable skills and talents to achieve economic survival and to build towards a prosperous future. 

Bibi is currently promoting Bangladeshi fabrics and handicrafts for domestic and international markets under the slogans ‘Fashion for Development and Positive Bangladesh’. To date, she has provided work for over thousands of weavers and artisans and has presented several shows in Europe, most of which were supported by UNESCO.
Her work has been internationally recognized having received among others, the ‘Honorary Fellowship’ of the London Institute in 1999, title of ‘Designer for Development’ by the UNESCO in 1999, the title ‘Artist for Peace’ by the UNESCO in 2001 and the Peace Prize 2004 by the United Nations Associations of Spain.
This tribute is in recognition of her unfailing commitment to the welfare of the weavers of Bangladesh and her untiring devotion to the promotion worldwide of traditional crafts in the cause of human dignity, development and the eradication of poverty.

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