A taste of Goan chic

His latest collection, a mix of his popular resort wear, a range of eco-friendly cottons and his designs from the Lakme Fashion Week is currently put up in Bengaluru and Goan-based designer Wendell Rodricks was in town to promote it. While people prefer to call his latest range the ‘Spring-Summer’ collection, Wendell isn’t appreciative of the tag. “Where are the different seasons in places like Goa and Bengaluru? It’s just a fashion jargon and we are blindly trying to imitate the West. For me, it’s a ‘festive’ collection,” he says.

Wendell’s collection was also in the news for having appealed to actress Lara Dutta who bought a piece from his latest range. “Oh god! I don’t think Lara will ever wear that piece after so much publicity! She bought a piece from the collection which I showed in Delhi,” he reveals.

The price of his latest collection ranges from Rs 2000 to Rs 18000, with the most expensive piece being a slip-on sari made out of T-shirt fabric. Wendell, whose favourite colour is white, says, “I use only cuts and finish in my designs and white is the best medium to show that well. Also, I consider myself a south Indian and white is a favourite colour amongst people in the South.”

Wendell’s upcoming shows include one in Bengaluru in December and also the India-Sweden Project in April 2010. “I’m also going to San Francisco in July to do an informative, educational forum with students and teachers at a fashion university,” he adds.

Not the kind to get jitters before a show, Wendell reveals that he is extremely organised and even does his own choreography and records his own music. Ask him which celebrity he thinks is stylish and he says, “Beyonce is stylish. In India, I like Rekha, Malaika and Preity Zinta. I like the dressing style of certain artists and writers — I’m not too enamored by film stars.” This explains why Wendell hasn’t done a single Bollywood project till date. “I’m not interested in Bollywood. I’d have to leave Goa and work in a smelly, dusty studio for three months — it’s unhealthy and I’d get agitated and lose sense of who I am,” says the designer who describes his style statement as ‘Goan, minimal and resort’.

As for Bengaluru, Wendell, who comes to the city often, says, “It’s vibrant and energetic like a young metropolis. In fact, it’s one of my favourite Indian cities!”