Bibi Russell

Russell was born in 1950 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. Returning to Bangladesh in 1994, Russell opened a fashion house named Bibi Productions, which fused indigenous Bengali cultural elements into her design. As of 2004, her company employed 35,000 weavers in rural Bangladesh. ==Fashion shows==

With UNESCO support, Bibi Russell organized her first European fashion show (pioneering event by a South Asian female) in Paris in 1996. She also organized fashion show, The Colours of Bangladesh, in Spain in 1997. ==Filmography==

• Moner Manush (2009) ==Awards==

• Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Costume Design - 2009 for Moner Manush • Russell 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. Russell is also a Fellow of Bangla Academy. ==References==