Bollywood style is uninspiring: Bibi

Bollywood style is uninspiring: Bibi

Bibi Russell, in India for the Kolkata Fashion Week, opens up about Indian fashion

No psychedelic lights, no bling, no overt drama on the ramp, no pop music. Yet Bangladeshi designer Bibi Russell's show at the Kolkata Fashion Week impressed the harshest fashion critics for its originality and use of natural fabrics in innovative styles. And she didn't need a Bollywood siren for a showstopper. "I've never done that and I never will. I come from a modelling background and have modelled in the west. The concept doesn't exist there. Getting a Bollywood actress as the showstopper is wrong. Modelling isn't their job. Let the models have the standing ovation, it's a matter of their livelihood. How can you let an actress steal the thunder from them?" asks Bibi.

It's not just her clothes that scream 'different'. It's her entire lifestyle. For starters, until recently she didn't have a store even in Bangladesh. But the designer, who propounds affordable fashion (her gamcha shirts are for Rs 150, dresses for Rs 500), doesn't retail out of India. "I'd love to, but no one offers me a chance to retail in India. Why should I sell my creations in the US and the UK when I can sell them in India and revive the lives of more people?" asks Bibi.

She's appalled at how Indian designers repeat their collections in all the fashion weeks. Says Bibi, "I can't show the same collection at the London, Paris and Milan fashion weeks. They'll kill me; the media will walk out of the show. I had a collection made exclusively for the Colombo Fashion Week. But Indian designers repeat their collections unabashedly at all the fashion weeks."

Indian designers lack originality, perhaps even commitment feels Bibi."Neeta Lulla designed for Devdas without reading the novel. But India is a jewel for any creative person. Each state has so much to offer. That's what is going to make India a superpower," states Bibi.

Her take on Bollywood fashion? "It's uninspiring, barring a few classics like Mughal-e-Azam. Today, no one has a style in Bollywood. Wearing short skirts and clothes with glitter isn't style. It's the whole persona that counts," she maintains.

She married causes with fashion, designing sarees with the red ribbon signifying AIDS awareness. And that's just one of the causes she espouses. "I take care of 35,000 weavers and their children. I'm helping people come out of poverty with dignity. I probably sleep for ten hours in ten days and work like a machine. But what saddens me is that I'm not saving enough people. But poverty isn't a disease. You can come out of it if you try," comments Bibi.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Fashion-Shows/Bollywood-style-is-uninspiring-Bibi/articleshow/4369924.cms