No synthetic for me: Bangladeshi designer Bibi Russell (Interview)

KOLKATA - She was a catwalk queen abroad, but returned to her native land, Bangladesh, to help the handwoven textile industry. Today Bibi Russell says nothing in the world can make her design synthetic garments.

“I studied and worked abroad and then came back to Bangladesh because that is what I wanted to do (work on natural fibres). The whole world is turning towards organic products,” said Bibi, who is known for designing ‘gamchas’ or traditional towels.

“Even if you give me everything in the world, you cannot make me design a synthetic garment,” Bibi told IANS during a leisurely chat at the Kolkata Fashion Week-II.

The former catwalk star will showcase her collection that includes 24 varieties for women and seven for men. She uses fabrics like khadi, cotton, silk, jute, tribal fabrics, recycle fabrics and the legendary jamdani for her creations.

Expressing her fondness for the art and culture of this city, Russell said it’s time for Kolkata to build up its image in fashion.

“Fashion is a part of art and culture. Fashion is very important. Kolkata has great films, music, artists and Rabindranath Tagore, who epitomised culture. It’s time fashion came up in the city.

“I think it’s a wonderful initiative. Only Kolkata Fashion Week can make me come to showcase my collection. Other parts of India can’t. I don’t go to Bombay or Delhi for fashion shows,” she said.

She said though Bangladesh has some fashion shows, it is yet to have a full-fledged fashion week.

A graduate from the London College of Fashion in 1975, Bibi was a ramp star who modelled for magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan and created a niche for herself in the West before returning to her homeland.

She says she didn’t comeback to hog the limelight.

“I know why I came back and who I came back to. It is not for publicity that I have come back. If that was the purpose, I could have stayed abroad because there everybody knows me by my first name,” said Bibi.

After returning, she opened Bibi Productions in Bangladesh and is trying to help the hand woven textile industry. In fact, at London Fashion Week Bibi showcased a collection, most of which was manufactured by victims of the country’s devastating floods.

Dressed in a traditional red and cream checked sari and lots of metallic and wooden jewellery and a colourful floral cap, Bibi proved her point.

The designer has her main office in Dhaka, but “I work in the villages of Bangladesh for 99.9 percent of the time.”

“Most of the time I work in places like Kumilla, Barishal, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Sylhet, Kushtia, Rongpur, Dinajpur, Sherpur area in Maimansingh,” she said.