Bangalore: Fashion Guru Wendell Rodricks Speaks to Daijiworld
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (MB)
Pics by Akash Poojari Polali
November 7, 2007
Fashion designer Wendell Rodricks was in Bangalore for a men's fashion event.
Daijiworld caught up with this purist over a conversation on his passion for fashion. Master of minimalism and the patron of high-end dressing, the ace designer breathes the DNA of a fabric.
From food catering to design – this Goan has come a long way.
Speaking exclusively to Daijiworld, Wendell put forward his ideas, collection and perspective:
About Bangalore angle
South Indian aesthetics go beautifully with my design interpretation. Bangalore is a distinct market as you have to address to both petite and the well-endowed women.
Indian menswear usually means sherwanis and jackets. In my collection, you will not find a single jacket. There are front open kurtas, wrap skirts, beach pants and tops. With soft-feel fabrics like silks and polished cottons, it's like you are not wearing anything at all.
Target
It's a unisex collection and will effectively cater Bangalore which has a large expatriate population with big-built women, who often land up buying from men's section. We want to erase the boundrey of sexes.
Ethnic accent
I appreciate embroidery but too much is happening with it in India. I want to be away from the herd. I have the creative intelligence to play with fabrics and cuts.
Fashion trends
Yes there is a bit of confusion as our showcases are always fashion-forward. Unconsciously, Indians are following trends. At least, they know that pastels are for summer and muted shades for winter.
About Wendell Rodricks
Wendell Rodricks is a prominent fashion designer based in the western Indian region of Goa.
Wendell Rodricks is arguably Goa's most famous fashion designer and has also been listed among one of India's top ten designers. His work has involved a wide range of fashion - from lecturing on world costume history to fashion journalism and styling for international advertising campaigns.
In recent years, he has also joined campaigns and spoken out over the need to retain the unique mix that goes into making the small and scenic former Portuguese colony of Goa.
He has also been the first Indian designer to be invited to IGEDO (the world's largest garment fair); the first Indian designer to open the Dubai Fashion Week; the first Indian designer to be invited to show at the MTown Hall in Paris; and the first Indian designer to be invited to Paris for the prestigious Paris Pret-a-Porter salon.
Rodricks has been termed The Guru of Indian Minimalism by sections of the media. He is seen as having pioneered a resort-style unique in the country.
Relaxed, resort in flavour, fluid and cut with a precise sense of Indian geometry, the Wendell Rodricks signature-style is argued to have "put the state of Goa firmly on the fashion map."
Rodricks lives in Colvale village of North Goa and since 1993 he has gained the reputation for sending out creative collections for each fashion season. He has argued that it is a remarkable feat for a designer who despite living in a small village can still manage to direct the fashion trend for the country.
The Goa-based fashion designer is critical of attempts to make beauty pagents "more in line with our culture" and what he has termed a xenophobic attitude to even simple fund-raising events which are "not part of our culture".
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