French actress Catherine Deneuve. Pic/AFP photo.

How a Goan designer played host to two hot divas

"I'd have loved to host Rekha and Catherine (Deneuve) together. Imagine two divas coming together," exclaims Wendell Rodricks. The ongoing Goa Film Festival saw Bollywood actress Rekha chill out at Goan designer Wendell's home for two days, where she relished Prawn Curry and Rice. Wendell escorted celebrated French actress Catherine Deneuve and designer Gilles Dufour on the Colvale, a private boat for a ride along the Mandovi River and Cumbharjua canal. That was followed by a shopping spree at Wendell Rodricks Design Space in Campal. While Deneuve was felicitated with Lifetime Achievement Award, Rekha was there to inaugurate the Goa Film Festival slated to be on till December 2.  

The French Ambassador to India, Jérôme Bonnafont, asked Wendell's partner Jerome Marrel to show Deneuve around Goa. And Wendell was more than happy. "I had heard stories of her mood swings but in person, she was incredibly pleasant as she sipped on champagne while relaxing on my boat," he recalls. Deneuve visited Wendell's store and left an autograph, scribbling on the celebrity filled changing room walls.

Considered  a beauty, fashion and film icon, Catherine was muse to designer Yves Saint Laurent, and she single-handedly raised the sales of Chanel No. 5 perfume in the US, in 1970s.

What Deneuve bought: Pomegranate and sandalwood dyed blouse, items in white cotton, a sari, and the famous Wendell Rodricks stuffed toy a fashion piglet in lilac taffeta silk. "The colours and fabrics are delicate and beautiful," the 65 year-old style icon told Wendell.