'Listening to Western trends is inane'

Goa-based Wendell Rodricks isn’t one to shy away from sharing his opinions. The fashion designer, who is presently working on a red, white and black collection for the North-East Fashion Festival using Assamese fabrics, speak to Metrolife during a visit to the City recently.

When it comes to Bangalore’s sense of fashion, Wendell says he is quite unimpressed. “I’m sorry to say but I went out on to the streets of Bangalore and some of the clothes I saw hanging were hideous. I don’t think they should be worn. I think the beauty of South India lies in simplicity. I took minimalism, Ayurveda and yoga from South India. And I think I’m losing the plot because everybody else wants to have the bling and frill and I feel it’s an invasion of South India,” shares Wendell.

“People need to be conscious of where their culture comes from and I don’t see that happening. We need more designers from here come to the national platform and make their presence felt. Every part of India has different things to offer. We don’t want South India to go the Karan Johar way for a wedding. We want them to wear their mundus and dhotis and celebrate it. I think it’s a sad thing if we all suddenly convert and
become one India that is Bollywood-inspired. That’s a bad thing for this country,”
he emphasises.

On a lighter note, the designer says that his choice of fabric varies from collection to collection. “For long tours, I prefer lycra and georgette because they last through all the cities and don’t get stained. But otherwise, I like cotton and linen. They’re my favourite weaving fabrics for India,” says the designer.

He’s also quite against the idea of following fashion trends. “I don’t really care about trends in fashion. We need to develop our own style from the beginning, realise what colours and silhouettes suit us and create something unique which is better for ourselves.

Listening to Western trends is inane,” notes Wendell, adding “I’m developing trends according to my styles, not an international forecast that says that grey and purple garments are ‘in’ because those don’t suit Indian women. In the end, Indian women want to look taller, slimmer and beautiful. They’re not interested in fashion trends
at all.”

After his autobiography ‘The Green Room’, the designer has already started working on his next book. “I’m doing more illustrations for the present book I’m working on because it’s a textbook of sorts. But I can’t say what stage it’s currently at. It’ll come out when it does,” he concludes.