Bibi Russell Promote Bodo Weavers
June 10th, 2010 - 6:41 pm ICT by Sampurn Wire
June 10, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Former supermodel and renowned fashion designer Bibi Russell has associated with the traditional Bodo women of Assam to create a new line of lifestyle products which will be a mixture of ethnic Bodo culture and high end fashion.
Bibi Russell will train Bodo women for “Weaving Destinations’ to work with modern design techniques and develop their range of skills that will help them market their products as a premium label. The Bodo women working for “Weaving Destinations’ include HIV patients, survivors of human trafficking and women migrant returnees who are highly vulnerable to re-trafficking and are social outcasts.
Russell, a UNESCO designer for development, has recently visited the Bodo heartland and met the local weavers. She was all excited over the beautiful designs, especially for the endi and eri silk. She also praised the vibrant colours and shades used in the different designs woven by local women.
The designer had promised to work with local Bodo artists and promote their product on the international stage. She said that the Bodo weavers produce a range of hand-woven products that preserve traditional Bodo Motif and weaving techniques for both individual and industrial purpose.
The “Weaving Destination’ is a part of the “Women and Wealth Project’, a provincial social endeavor by the United Nations development program (UNDP) and the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) of Thailand, aspired at the socio-economic development of women living with HIV.
Russell recently featured her trademark “Gamcha’ collections and “Jamdani’ saris at Kolkata Fashion Week, 2010. Russell works in Bangladesh to preserve and promote the hand-woven textile industry there.
-Sampurn Wire

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Tags: assam, beautiful designs, different designs, endi, fashion designer, fashion week, hiv patients, industrial purpose, international stage, lifestyle products, living with hiv, returnees, saris, social outcasts, survivors of human trafficking, united nations development, united nations development program, vibrant colours, wealth project, woven products