Wendell Rodricks
Rodricks in 2017
Born(1960-05-28)28 May 1960
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Died12 February 2020(2020-02-12) (aged 59)
Colvale, Goa, India
NationalityIndian
Occupations
  • Fashion designer
  • author
PartnerJerome Marrel (PACS in 2002)
Awards
Websitewendellrodricks.com

Wendell Rodricks (28 May 1960 – 12 February 2020) was a Goan fashion designer and author based in the Indian state of Goa.[1][2] He was also an activist for social causes, environment and gay rights.[3] In 2014, the Government of India conferred upon him its fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri.[4]

Early life

Rodricks was born on 28 May 1960[5][6] to Goan Catholic parents, Greta and Felix in Parel, Bombay.[7] He was the eldest brother to Robin, Chester and Joel.[8] The original surname of the family was "Rodrigues", but changed to "Rodricks" after a misspelling during his grandfather's time. He grew up in Mahim[7] and attended St. Michael's High School in Mahim. After completing school, he took a graduate diploma in catering.[9] After this, he joined as assistant director of the Royal Oman Police (ROP) Officers Club in the city of Muscat in 1982.[10] However, he did not pursue these professions but moved to fashion designing. He began by using his savings to study fashion in Los Angeles and Paris.[11]

Career

Fashion

Rodricks began his career in fashion by designing for Garden Vareli, Lakmé Cosmetics and DeBeers.[12] When in Paris with his first portfolio in hand, he was advised to put "your country in your clothes".[13] He launched his own label in 1989 with his first show held at the Regal Room of the Oberoi Hotel, Mumbai.[14] His first collection consisted of twelve ensembles, with model Mehr Jesia. Out of these, only six were complete outfits. He did not have enough funds for supplying all models with shoes or bottoms for their organza tunics.[15] Henceforth, Rodricks' work involved a wide range of fashion, from lecturing on world costume history (at SNDT Women's University) to fashion journalism and styling for international advertising campaigns.[11] He was the first Indian designer to be invited to IGEDO (the world's largest garment fair) in 1995; the first Indian designer to open the Dubai Fashion Week in 2001; and was invited to present at the Paris Fashion Week Pret a Porter salon in 2007.[16] He was a fellow design member of the Fashion Design Council of India.[17][18]

Rodricks was known for pioneering the idea of resort wear and for advocating eco-friendly fashion. In 2010, he revived the traditional Goan attire of the kunbi sari. He convinced Pratibha Patil, Priyanka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi to be its patrons, thus increasing the cost from a meagre Rs. 700 to more than Rs. 7000, for the benefit of the weavers.[19] He was also a part of the khadi movement, and even promoted it at the world's largest organic fair, BioFach, at Nuremberg, Germany, in 2011 when he was invited there.[20] In 2017, he presented a collection for plus-size women at the Lakme Fashion Week in 2017.[21][22]

Rodricks dressed many over the decades. When his close friend Lisa Ray decided to get married in 2012, she chose a gown designed by him.[23] In 2014, he paid tribute to actress Rekha at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW), on the occasion of her 60th birthday.[24] Rodricks helped Deepika Padukone, who had been modelling with him for roughly two years then, grab her role in Om Shanti Om by recommending her to Malaika Arora, who in turn recommended her to Farah Khan in 2007.[25] He also helped Anushka Sharma, launching her as a model in his 2007 Les Vamps Show at the Lakme Fashion Week and encouraged her to move to Mumbai when she was just 18 years old.[26]

In 2016, he announced his retirement from his label, to concentrate on his museum. He handed over creative control to his student, Schulen Fernandes, who first worked with him in 1999.[16]

Acting

Rodricks made cameo appearances in the 2003 film Boom and in the television play True West in 2002. He also played himself in the 2008 film Fashion.[12][27]

Writing

Rodricks contributed to journals of travel and art, and wrote about food, especially Goan cuisine.[28]

Later in 2012, Rodricks released his autobiography, titled The Green Room. It came about as the result of a writing challenge by a fellow author.[29][30]

In 2017, he released Poskem: Goans in the Shadows. It is a work of fiction about poskem, orphans taken in by well-off Goan families, who were employed as servants.[31][32] The book features illustrations by Mario Miranda.[28]

Books
Year of PublicationNameNotesReference
2012Moda Goa: History and StyleGoan Fashion[33][34]
2012The Green Room Autobiography[35]
2017Poskem: Goans in the Shadows[36][37]

Other pursuits

From 1993 on Rodricks resided in a 450-year-old house in Colvale, named "Casa Dona Maria". In 2016, he and his partner moved to a smaller house nearby to convert the larger one into a museum of Goan fashion,[33] named the "Moda Goa Museum and Research Centre". The museum was slated to open to the public in March 2020.[38] Rodricks worked on collecting exhibits for it since 1998, when he began his research into Goa's costumes and clothing. He had since collected 800 exhibits, ranging from an original pano bhaju, to Reita Faria's bathing suit (which won her the title of Miss World in 1966), to an apsara found in a nearby field dating to a Buddhist monastery from the 7th century.[11][39]

Rodricks was also one of the speakers at TEDxPanaji 2019.[40]

Activism

Rodricks wrote a column in the Goa-based monthly Goa Today, where he often raised issues of social concerns and the environment.[41] In the mid-2000s, he began a mailing list with Margaret Mascarenhas, urging citizens to report cases of lack of waste management.[42] He spoke out against the IRFW (India Resort Fashion Week) in 2012 stating that it "damages the environment".[43] In 2018, he started a helpline for the LGBTQ community with the help of Ruby Almeida, the co-chair of Global Network of Rainbow Catholics.[44] In 2019, he petitioned against the demolition of a 100-year-old church in Colvale, Goa.[45] He had previously closed one of his boutiques in a resort owned by a mine owner, in protest of the illegal mining in Goa. He also unsuccessfully campaigned against the cutting down of six mango trees to make a highway in Colvale, citing that they were more than 200 years old.[42]

Wendell Rodricks was a patron of the KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, the annual LGBTQ film festival in Mumbai, and instituted an award for Best Poster Design in 2012 [46] and continued to support the award every year. He also picked the winning entry every year as the Honorary Judge, with his keen aesthetic eye.[47]

Awards

Reception

In December 2016, Rodricks displayed his collection of the history of Goan costumes at the Serendipity Arts Festival. However, Goa University's professor and head of the history department Dr. Pratima Kamat pointed out historical inaccuracies in the text displayed alongside the exhibits.[51]

In 2018, Rodricks accused Payal Khandwala, whom he had previously mentored, of copying his technique of pleating the fabric.[52]

Personal life

Rodricks was actively homosexual since he was 19 years old, and formalized his relationship with a wealthy French businessman named Jerome Marrel in a Civil solidarity pact in Paris in 2002.[53] He had met Marrel in Oman through a friend who set them up while Rodricks was working there for the Royal Oman Police (ROP) Officers Club in 1983. Rodricks credited Marrel for his success as a fashion designer, in his autobiography, The Green Room.[35] They both loved travelling and had visited over 150 countries together.[54]

Rodricks lived and worked in Bombay (Mumbai) until the 1993 Bombay bombings, following which he moved with his partner Marrell and their pet dogs to his ancestral village of Colvale in Goa. He donated towards the improvement of the village and started a scholarship for the toppers of the schools of the village, in memory of his parents.[7]

Rodricks was Roman Catholic, and a founding member and prominent activist of the LGBT Catholic advocacy group Rainbow Catholics India.[55] He was the godfather of Arhaan Khan, the son of the film-maker Arbaaz Khan and his ex-wife Malaika Arora.[56] Rodricks played a large role in forming the career of Arora and remained close to her and her family.[57]

Death

Rodricks died on 12 February 2020 at his residence in Colvale, Goa, at the age of 59.[58] On 13 February, the Goa Police announced that they were still investigating the cause of his death, although it was allegedly reported that he had been suffering from a prolonged illness.[59] A close friend of his reported that he had died due to heart failure during an afternoon nap. His funeral was held on 13 February at the St Francis of Assisi Church, Colvale.[60]

References

  1. 1 2 "Fashion designer, activist Wendell Rodricks passes away at Goa home". The Indian Express. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  2. ↑ "Wendell Rodricks was an icon of Indian's LGBTQ rights movement — a pioneer who ventured where few had dared to". Firstpost. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  3. ↑ Saran, Sathya (15 November 2012). "He's quite an activist: Jerome Marrel on his partner, Wendell Rodricks". Firstpost. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Padma Shri to Wendell Rodricks would help LGBT Community in India". Biharprabha News. Indo-Asian News Service. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Wendell Rodricks to interact with students". The Hindu. 4 November 2015. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "The top fashion designers in India". FashionFresta.com. 12 October 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 Nair, Smita (24 February 2020). "Wendell's Goa: How a sleepy village fell in love with a gay 'ladies tailor'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "Padma Shri Wendell Rodricks laid to rest in Colvale". The Navhind Times. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  9. ↑ Sita Menon (18 July 2003). "Fashion is not important: Wendell Rodricks". Rediff.com. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
  10. ↑ Basu, Soma (3 April 2019). "I had to learn driving twice". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 Khan, Sarah A. (30 March 2019). "Isn't Goa Style a Bikini? Not According to a New Museum". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  12. 1 2 "Wendell Rodricks gets standing ovation at LFW for Padma Shri". Business Standard India. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  13. ↑ Mittal, Vidhi (30 March 2016). "'I have broken many rules': Wendell Rodricks". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  14. ↑ "Fashion's vision". The Indian Express. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  15. ↑ Mathai, Anjuly (8 April 2018). "A sartorial sojourn". The Week. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  16. 1 2 Monteiro, Lisa (25 August 2016). "Wendell Rodricks: End of an era in fashion as Wendell Rodricks retires from his own label". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  17. ↑ Khan, Zahra (29 January 2014). "I broke down and cried!: Wendell Rodricks". DNA India. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  18. ↑ "Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI)". fdci.org. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  19. ↑ Zachariah, Preeti (10 March 2017). "Reviving the Kunbi". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  20. ↑ "From huts to high streets: Khadi comes of age". NDTV. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  21. ↑ "Wendell Rodricks presents plus-size collection at LFW". Inshorts - Stay Informed. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  22. ↑ "Wendell Rodricks at Lakmé Fashion Week winter/festive 2017". VOGUE India. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  23. ↑ "Lisa chooses Wendell's gown, Satya Paul sari for wedding". India Today. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  24. ↑ "Wendell Rodricks' Tribute for Evergreen Rekha on 60th Birthday". NDTVMovies.com. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  25. ↑ "Throwback Thursday: Did you know Malaika Arora helped Deepika Padukone bag her first film Om Shanti Om?". India Today. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  26. ↑ Raghuvanshi, Aakanksha (13 February 2020). "Wendell Rodricks Was Why I Moved To Mumbai at 18: Anushka Sharma Pays Tribute To Designer". NDTV.com. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  27. ↑ Garg, Nikshubha (10 August 2014). "I cannot sit on a film set endlessly: Wendell Rodricks". Mid-Day. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  28. 1 2 Sen, Jaideep (6 November 2017). "Poskem: Wendell Rodricks draws attention to grim Goan tradition". The New Indian Express Indulge. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  29. ↑ Mitra, Ipshita (6 February 2013). "'The Green Room' was born out of a challenge: Wendell Rodricks". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  30. ↑ "Excerpts from Wendell Rodricks' The Green Room". The Times of India. 12 October 2002. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  31. ↑ Nagaraj, Anuradha (13 November 2017). "Fashion designer Wendell Rodricks exposes domestic servitude in India's 'sunshine state' Goa". Reuters. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  32. ↑ James, Merin (10 November 2017). "Poskem: An unheard saga". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  33. 1 2 Nayar, Aashmita (1 June 2016). "Designer Wendell Rodricks Converts 450-Year-Old Home into Museum For Goan Fashion". HuffPost India. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  34. ↑ Rodricks, Wendell (2012). Moda Goa-History And Style. India: HarperCollins Publishers India. ISBN 9789350292112.
  35. 1 2 Sathya, Saran (13 November 2012). "He's quite an activist: Jerome Marrel on his partner, Wendell Rodricks". Firstpost. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  36. ↑ Sudarshan, Aditya. "Wendell Rodricks's book on a dark secret of Goa stops short of telling the entire truth". Scroll.in. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  37. ↑ Rodricks, Wendell (30 June 2017). Poskem: Goans in the Shadows. Om Books International. ISBN 9789352761234.
  38. ↑ Vij, Gauri (13 February 2020). "Indian fashion world loses pioneering, multifaceted designer Wendell Rodricks". The Hindu.
  39. ↑ Sen, Jaideep (17 March 2019). "The keeper of culture: Wendell Rodricks on the Moda Goa museum of costumes, and other projects". The New Indian Express Indulge. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  40. ↑ Joshi, Jay (18 April 2019). "Innovating hacks for a better future". The Goan. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  41. ↑ Agarwal, Nikhil (2 October 2012). "Wendell Rodricks Turns into Environmental Activist". Outlook India.
  42. 1 2 Bhattacharjya, Manjima (15 February 2020). "Wendell Rodricks passes away: Fashion designer is too small a term to encompass the multitudes that was Padma Shri awardee". Firstpost. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  43. ↑ "I'm against IRFW, it damages environment: Wendell Rodricks". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  44. ↑ "Wendell Rodricks LGBTQ helpline has Church s blessing". Mid-Day. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  45. ↑ "Designer Wendell Rodricks Urges PM Modi To Save 100-Year-Old Goan Chapel". NDTV.com. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  46. ↑ "Wendell Rodricks announces winner of KASHISH 2012 poster contest". yahoo.com/. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  47. ↑ "Wendell Rodricks picks KASHISH 2020 Poster Contest Winner". youthincmag.com/. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  48. ↑ "Padma Awards Announced". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  49. ↑ "Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters award for Wendell Rodricks : Know everything about the award". India Today. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  50. ↑ "Warriors in a noble cause". Mid-Day. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  51. ↑ Nath, Dipanita (23 December 2016). "Cover Story: The Wendell Rodricks controversy at Goa's Serendipity Arts Festival". The Indian Express. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  52. ↑ "Wendell Rodricks accuses Payal Khandwala of plagiarism: Here's what both of them have to say". Hindustan Times. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  53. ↑ "'They expected me to be this terrible monster...who'd try to grab them'". The Telegraph. Kolkata. 14 October 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  54. ↑ Pushpan, Shikha (11 February 2019). "Wendell Rodricks & Jerome Marrel Talk To Us About 25 Years Of Travelling Together". Travel + Leisure India. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  55. ↑ "Rainbow Catholics India: Death of Wendell Rodricks". Quest UK. 12 February 2020.
  56. ↑ Olivera, Roshni (12 December 2002). "Bandra church stymies Salman's godfather ambition". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  57. ↑ Vasudev, Shefalee (11 March 2016). "End of the muse". LiveMint. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  58. ↑ "Popular Fashion Designer Wendell Rodricks Passes Away". Mumbai Live. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  59. ↑ "Goa police on Wendell Rodricks: Cause of death being ascertained". India Today. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  60. ↑ "Close friend of Wendell Rodricks says ace designer died in his sleep". ANI. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
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