Bibi Russel: Former Model, Designer, Social Entrepreneur
When I was little I had a dream. Walking through the villages of Bangladesh I could see that the people were wearing beautiful clothes, such as saris and sarongs, and I used to ask things like, "How did you do this colour combination?" They would say, "We did it ourselves". "But," I would say, "you never went to school. You do better colour combinations than me and I have pencils and everything."
One day, when my parents realised that they could not make me study to become a professional, I told them that I wanted to go to Europe to study fashion. For me, fashion is a culture and a necessity. You go to a different part of the world, you see what people are wearing, and you know their culture. It is a necessity because you need a piece of cloth to cover your pride, as we cannot go around naked. So, I went to Europe to study, and I graduated from the London College of Fashion.
All the best art colleges and fashion schools have a graduation show. My teachers told me that in my graduation show I could model my two outfits, because I looked good. When the teachers said that I must model my clothes, I agreed. So then the Bengali girl who came to study fashion turned to modelling.
I was very lucky. My first work as a model was fourteen pages in Harper's Bazaar. I worked with the greatest people. I travelled around the world and worked for nearly all the top designers, all the best magazines. Modelling made me mature and taught me many things.
When I told my friends in the fashion world that I wanted to go back to Bangladesh they thought I was crazy. For an Asian girl it is not easy to make your first name known around the world, and they thought I was throwing it all away, but they did not understand that this was my dream. Nothing means more than making your dream come true. I went after my dream and it took me 25 years to realise it.
I went back to the villages and I started working. During my 25 years in Europe I had made a little money and I sold everything I had to put into my work. I knew that I had no time to waste. I started a company called Bibi Productions. I am just the founder--it is for the people.
That is where Fashion for Development started. Fashion can create social and economic development. Actually, designers do not work alone--they employ many people. Bangladesh has vast human resources. I learned all the modern technology in Europe, but I have transferred it to the Bangladeshi environment because I don't have all the resources of powerful machinery.
It took me a little time to get close to these craftspeople. It took two years for them to gain confidence in me and in themselves, which was very important - you must not take away human dignity - and now they perform magic! They have really started a revolution. Poverty is not a disease that cannot be cured, but you cannot do it in one leap- you have to go step by step.
My work is to show that beauty can come out of poverty.
When I was little I had a dream. Walking through the villages of Bangladesh I could see that the people were wearing beautiful clothes, such as saris and sarongs, and I used to ask things like, "How did you do this colour combination?" They would say, "We did it ourselves". "But," I would say, "you never went to school. You do better colour combinations than me and I have pencils and everything."
One day, when my parents realised that they could not make me study to become a professional, I told them that I wanted to go to Europe to study fashion. For me, fashion is a culture and a necessity. You go to a different part of the world, you see what people are wearing, and you know their culture. It is a necessity because you need a piece of cloth to cover your pride, as we cannot go around naked. So, I went to Europe to study, and I graduated from the London College of Fashion.
All the best art colleges and fashion schools have a graduation show. My teachers told me that in my graduation show I could model my two outfits, because I looked good. When the teachers said that I must model my clothes, I agreed. So then the Bengali girl who came to study fashion turned to modelling.
I was very lucky. My first work as a model was fourteen pages in Harper's Bazaar. I worked with the greatest people. I travelled around the world and worked for nearly all the top designers, all the best magazines. Modelling made me mature and taught me many things.
When I told my friends in the fashion world that I wanted to go back to Bangladesh they thought I was crazy. For an Asian girl it is not easy to make your first name known around the world, and they thought I was throwing it all away, but they did not understand that this was my dream. Nothing means more than making your dream come true. I went after my dream and it took me 25 years to realise it.
I went back to the villages and I started working. During my 25 years in Europe I had made a little money and I sold everything I had to put into my work. I knew that I had no time to waste. I started a company called Bibi Productions. I am just the founder--it is for the people.
That is where Fashion for Development started. Fashion can create social and economic development. Actually, designers do not work alone--they employ many people. Bangladesh has vast human resources. I learned all the modern technology in Europe, but I have transferred it to the Bangladeshi environment because I don't have all the resources of powerful machinery.
It took me a little time to get close to these craftspeople. It took two years for them to gain confidence in me and in themselves, which was very important - you must not take away human dignity - and now they perform magic! They have really started a revolution. Poverty is not a disease that cannot be cured, but you cannot do it in one leap- you have to go step by step.
My work is to show that beauty can come out of poverty.