Bibi Russell is a fashion designer and former international model from Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

. Born in Chittagong

Chittagong

Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, she studied in London College of Fashion

London College of Fashion

London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, offering undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therapy and lifestyle industries...

, earning a graduate degree in 1975. In the next five years, she worked as a model for different magazines including Vogue

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

, Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan (magazine)

Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...

 and Harper's Bazaar

Harper's Bazaar

Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...

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

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, "build, create"*健蔵, "healthy, storehouse"...

, Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...

 and Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a...

. Having returned to Bangladesh in 1994, Bibi opened Bibi Productions, her own fashion house, fusing indigenous Bengali cultural elements into her line. With assistance from UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

, she organized her first European fashion show in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in 1996. As of 2004, her company employed 35,000 weavers in rural Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

. Her enterpreneurship has earned her many awards. The Asiaweek

Asiaweek

Asiaweek, the English edition, was a 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 December 7, 2001 issue due to a "downturn in the advertising market," according to...

magazine highlighted her as "one of the 20 people to watch in the millennium". http://www.unesco-kinder.de/typo3/52.0.html

External links

• Bangladesh ShowBiz - Bibi Russell
• Bibi Russell, Weaver of Coloured Dreams. The Daily Star Weekend Magazine, February 27, 2004.
• OpenDocument World Vision Report on Bibi Russell
• Tribute to Bibi Russell and Fashion for Development Project