Bangladeshi couturier Bibi Russell is one of the forerunners of the popular gamchha outfits that fashionistas can’t stop raving about these days. In 1994, when she returned to Bangladesh after two decades of life in Europe, Bibi took it up her mission to revive the local textile and handicrafts industry to alleviate the economic condition of the weavers. Recently in Kolkata to showcase her latest edit at a fashion awards show, Bibi spoke with us about fashion and more.
We cannot help ogling at your handbag! It’s made out of a rice sack, right?
Oh, this was made long back. I never throw away anything. I keep every piece of cloth; every bit of colour. You never know when a design strikes you. Sustainable is just a new term to describe what we have always been doing. In any middle-class Bengali household, you will always find some peas in a reusable ice cream container, or biscuits in an old Horlicks jar. We don’t even waste any part of vegetables — we try to consume everything. This is what sustainability is, and it is just not a fashion term.
You have been a forerunner of the gamchha print. Is it losing its charm?
My authenticity in making gamchha will remain the same because I make the gamchha weavers weave them for me, and not any other weaver. The gamchha printing was started so that I could uplift the weavers. People are making machine-made gamchhas, but that is not authentic.
Your take on modern-day fashion?
Fashion has become very important. Food, clothing and shelter are usually termed as the basic needs, but now clothing has become more important. Fashion for me is necessary and a reflection of one’s culture. The problem is that people are losing their identity trying to look like a particular person, maybe a Bollywood celebrity. Everybody is wearing the same thing, the same designs, the same silhouettes. The real selves are getting hidden under the fashion and makeup trends.