Bibi Production and Bangladeshi textiles
Bibi Russel is an internationally renowned model and fashion
designer. She left Bangladesh for Europe in 1972 after completing a
BSc from the Home Economics College, Dhaka. She was the first
Bangladeshi woman to gain admission to the London School of Design,
where she studied a four year diploma course in fashion design. In
1975 she modelled her own graduation show and was immediately
offered modelling assignments with international fashion houses.
Throughout the late 1970’s and 1980’s she dominated as a top model,
modelling for the likes of Karl Largerfeld and Armani, appearing in
Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Harpers’ Bazar among other magazines. After
achieving so much in 1994 she returned to Bangladesh to pursue her
longstanding dream to promote traditional Bangladeshi fabrics and
build an international reputation for locally crafted textiles. To
this end she worked tirelessly and in November 1998 made her US
debut to an overawed audience.
I spent most of my young life in Bangladesh and had my education
here. I was fortunate enough to be born in a family that could
provide me with a wonderful education and brought me into contact
with some very distinguished scholars, writers, poets and artists
from home and abroad. Although I lived in urban areas my family kept
very good contact with our traditional roots and I had the
opportunity to be in touch with rural folks. Their colourful clothes
(lungi, kurta and gamcha) always fascinated me and I increasingly
began to wonder about the colour combinations.
My fascination for design and colour made me interested in taking a
course on design at my college. My family was somewhat disconcerted
at the prospect of my becoming a tailor. I went to Europe in 1972
and applied for a place at the London College of Fashion. They
refused to accept my case on the ground that I did not have any A
levels in design nor any necessary background in designing. After
six months I was still calling my college secretary and I remember
she was fed up and told me that I had no chance.
After persistent efforts I secured a conditional admission but
funding still remained a problem. Finally, with the help of the
college I secured a private scholarship. In my work I tried to
reflect the richness of my country and its cultural heritage. I
wanted to present the good things about my country which is too
often identified with its floods and its poverty. After that I spent
a large part of my life in the West mostly in the fashion industry.
In 1993 I realized I needed to come back home and do something here.
I felt that mentally and physically I was strong enough to come
back. Despite the fact that I was well settled abroad and had a
wonderful and colourful career, I missed being home. With time, that
feeling of emptiness grew, and it was on the first day of 1994 that
I came back to Bangladesh. To conclude I would like to tell you that
the mental satisfaction of being able to work here in my own culture
and being able to engage with ordinary artisans is absolutely
priceless.
Bibi Russel’s story shows that, if they desire to, a person can migrate to another country build an international reputation and still return to their country of origin and make a positive contribution. It is the inherent feeling of being a Bangladeshi, and an empathy with the poorest sectors of Bangladeshi society that has driven Bibi Russel to come back and invest her skills and knowledge in the rural people of Bangladesh.
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