One of India’s best known Fashion designers, who work extended much beyond the ramp to touch lives and promote indigenous skills, Wendell Rodricks passed away at about 5 pm at his residence in Colvale. With his passing, Goa lost one of its iconic and much loved sons.
Family sources confirmed the death to Herald though there has been no official statement issued yet by the family or those close to him. He is survived by his spouse and partner for years Jerome Marrel who he married in 2002
Fashion Design Council of India in a tweet stated that it "is deeply disheartened with the sudden and untimely demise of one of the country’s iconic designer, Wendell Rodricks. The fashion fraternity lost a legend today. Wendell, we will miss you. #RIPWendell
He was a designer, social activist who took to the streets for causes, an actor, writer and above all a conservationist who protected traditional designs and skills especially with his flagship movement towards reviving the fine art of weaving Kunbi sarees. One of his last big causes was the protection of trees. He personally led a movement in Colvale against the expansion of the highway which would lead to a lot of trees in his idyllic village being cut. He literally rallied people to hug trees to prevent them from getting razed
From the highest corridors of fashion the world over, his designs have been worn by some of the world’s highly acclaimed models as well as the glittering stars of India’1s modeling and fashion world many of whom have gone to become top rated Bollywood and international actors, Deepika Padukone, Mehr Jessia and Aishwarya Rai, to name a few. In fact it was Rodricks who literally hand held Deepika Padukone as she stepped from fashion to Bollywood for her first film Om Shanti Om.
For the past three years though, Rodricks stepped back and allowed his intern turned prodigy, Schulen Fernandes to run and manage the Wendell Rodricks brand, giving him time to purse his causes,. It was Fernandes who with her skill, kept the Wendell Rodricks brand flying high, Fernandes, told a close friend, after hearing of Wendell’s death, that she was too shocked to comment and needed to regain her composure.
Born on 28 May 1960 into a Goan family, Wendell grew up in Mumbai and attended St. Michael's High School in Mahim. Later he joined as Assistant Director of the Royal Oman Police (ROP) Officers Club in Muscat in 1982. He pursued fashion designing in Los Angeles and Paris, using all his savings
It was in Paris where he was told, ‘put your country in your clothes’
Rodricks has also argued that Indian clothes bear a strong influence from other parts of the globe. According to him, the Indian sari could be derived from Athenian dress, the West Chinese Kushans brought the jubba-coat and the pyjamas to India under Emperor Kanishka two thousand years ago, and the 'kurta' is a pure Moghul creation.
For the world, therefore, he will always be an acclaimed designer especially of resort wear and eco friendly designer wear. But for Goans, he will always be their boy next door, with a good heart and a never say die fighting spirit.