The democratic designer: Wendell

The avant garde fashion designer, Padma Shri awardee, Wendell Rodricks, 59, passed away, on February 12 at his Colvale, North Goa home. Not surprising that there was an outpouring of well-deserved, heartfelt, elegiac tributes to the designer who had evidently touched many hearts- the pain of the irreparable void exacerbated by the shocking suddenness of having gone too soon.

As a keen people watcher and writer, fashion trends spotter and a fashion week regular, one got a chance not only to interview the designer but also, observe the key humanitarian values he brought to the table, more than just his celebrated design sensibility- that human touch.

First things first, his forte and professional acumen as a designer. As a minimalist designer, Wendell made his mark as both a pioneer of trends (style over fashion for him!) and a challenger of the status quo in designs. Be it resort wear or the marrying of sustainable, environment friendly and democratic designs that didn't only cater to a slim body type; there's much to be learnt from his modernist, minimalist silhouettes. That also explains the timelessness and the classic elegance of his creations, that his name came to be synonymous with. Some of his iconic collections are the 'Yoga Calm' that showcased an ethereal blend of gold brocade with linen and khadi; 'Ahead of the Curve', where curved line on seams, hems, silhouette, style lines with minuscule gave a new fashion grammar to style to the later ones as The 'TRAPEZOID' Collection that uses the trapezoid form as is and in innovative isosceles and parallelogram styles, in which Schulen Fernandes, Creative Head for Wendell Rodricks explores the shape in a collection that celebrates this ancient form.

With a plethora of international appearances across the globe, amongst which the notable are the honour of being the first Indian designer to be invited to show at the World's largest garment fair IGEDO in Germany (1995), Dubai Fashion Week (2001), Malaysia Fashion Week (2002), the prestigious Paris Pret-a-Porter salon (2007) and the world's biggest organic fair BioFach in Nuremberg, Germany (2012), to name a few, he never let success get to his head. He is approachable and accommodating even for a photograph just before he gave interviews; personally experienced by me at the NSIC grounds in Delhi during the iconic North East Fashion Show.

Not for nothing was he called the Son of Goa, his aesthetics and inspirations drawn from the coastal haven, to which he dedicated the Moda Goa museum and Research Centre as a repository of all things Goa. A keen researcher in to the life and times and his respect for the past and all things rooted, reflects in his dedication towards preserving Goan culture especially, the sartorial heritage. Not only did he bring out a book titled, 'Moda Goa: History and Style' by Harper Collins but also acquired a more than 450-year old traditional Goan villa 'Casa Dona Maria' in Colvale, for building this dream project - Moda Goa Museum and Research Centre. The museum house is built on internatonal standards of catering to the scholar as well as a casual visitor; an open space for collection of over 800 artefacts that stretch from the 7th century AD till present date. It includes statues, objects, furniture, photographs and of course costumes, jewellery ans accessories.

A vocal activist on environmental issues and LGBTQ rights Rodricks is survived by his partner Jerome Marrel, whom he married in a civil ceremony in Paris in 2002. Rodricks, vociferously campaigned against the decimation of the iconic trees of the Ambeanni (mango grove) near Colvale his ancestral village in north Goa, for a full year, before they were mercilessly razed to the ground- this when the designer was travelling. That made Wendell write a heartfelt angry open letter to the then Chief Minister, "Please hear our voices and do Goa good, not highways and your so-called progress." If Goa was a state of mind or picture- it was Wendell.

An aesthete of the soul who saw beauty in fashion, travel, food, heritage, books and a larger humanitarian causes- a democratic designer, if ever there was one-Wendell leaves a rich legacy. It is upon us to take it forward as a true tribute to the departed designer of life!