What it takes to go beyond fashion

Amarjot Kaur

Back in the ’80s, after returning from Paris and LA, fashion designer Wendell Rodricks experimented with ‘minimalism’ and ‘eco-friendly clothing’ much before these terms came to be associated with fashion. His collection, all in white, was in utter contrast with the trendy ‘silk embroidery’. 

With a view to creatively reflect on India’s cultural diversity and to translate its bond with spiritualism in design, Wendell had reciprocated to the concerns of his mentor in France who fretted over India shunning its wide variety of traditional clothes.

Wendell has always been ahead of his time. He has been openly gay, despite which he made it to the committee of Museum of Christian Art. He made designer uniforms for Goa Police. “And if you go to my store in Goa, you’ll find that we have unusual sizes for women: small, medium voluptuous, very voluptuous and voluptuous goddess,” he said at the Khushwant Singh Literature Festival. He also spoke on The Plurality Personae. He wrote Moda Goa on fashion, The Green Room a memoir and Poskem was about a shameful tradition in Goa where rich people adopt children and use them as slaves. 

“My next book is going to be a children’s book on the Konkan Coast in a comic format,” he says. But that’s not all. He’ll soon be converting his 450-year-old house in Goa to a museum — Moda Goa Museum & Research Centre at Colvale.

That’s not all. As a chairman of Green Goa Works, he got a market in Goa to use gobar gas for its waste. Here’s a little more from the man who dons many hats:

What is your view on sustainable fashion and the new ‘vegan fashion’ that most labels are taking so fondly too? 

For the few people who take sustainable fashion, this is the way forward. For the rest in the majority it is just a trend that they want to latch on to. 

India and its people’s fashion sensibilities are diverse; do you think fashion industry reinforces body image stereotypes?

In the recent past, the fashion industry has embraced not just different body types but also different genders. At the recently concluded India Fashion Week in Delhi, there were transgenders and LGBTQ members who walked the ramp. From acid victims to seniors - fashion is a platform for diversity.

You have been vocal on plagiarism in the fashion industry. How often do your ideas get stolen?

Our designs get lifted every season. It is a compliment! 

What is your view on cultural appropriation?

I feel that every designer needs to promote their own culture via their clothes. 

In the day and age of online shopping, do you think mass production garments are taking over designer clothes? What is the scope for designers?

Designers will always lead the way as inspirational icons. We set the trends. The pret market clones us. But this is a universal trend. Big designer names are copied by the pret market for both online and retail.

From a designer to author, how difficult or easy was it to pen three books on fashion? Tell us about your new book. 

I wrote only one book, Moda Goa, on fashion. The Green Room is a memoir and Poskem is about a tradition in Goa.