Continued from page 01 HE indulged all of them with his magnificent mind. I was one of them.
He placed honesty, mixed with a wicked sense of humour, above all else; he was the first to send a message when he liked my reviews, and the first to pull me up for u201c succumbing to the systemu201d. In 2009, when I was working on a story questioning the credibility of multiple fashion weeks in the country, he told me, and insisted that I put it on record: u201c I donu2019t want to idealise or sound stupid, but fashion weeks are about the naach- gaana. Itu2019s a circus of money, egos and Page 3 pandering.u201d Be it socio- political, LGBTQI+ affairs, design space or Bollywood interference in fashionu2026 he had an opinion, and never minced words in expressing them, albeit eloquently.
He upset fragile fashion people right and left, making as much of an art of the cutting aside as the perfectly cut gown. He judged and knew he would be judged himself, but he didnu2019t care. Rather, he welcomed it with a loud chuckle and a clever repartee.
Right from the beginning of his illustrious career, he never employed a publicist. He was his best PR. As the social media game upped its momentum, Wendell was a voice you could not ignore. From sharing his motheru2019s prawn curry recipe, his trips with husband Jerome Marrel to faraway places, to posting images of his pets Freddy, Zoe and Zorba, and throwbacks to his blockbuster collections, his Instagram page is possibly the best version of a Wikipedia page, in pictures, that he has left behind.
u201c He brought resort wear to India, and that is his biggest contribution to our industry,u201d feels James Ferreira.
u201c What is this?u201d was the customer feedback when Wendell introduced his resort collection in 1993 in Mumbai.
u201c Back then, Maharaja- inspired dressing and Bollywood bling dominated the fashionscape.
Selling cotton in a high- end boutique was unheard of,u201d he had told me.
Three remarkable decades down, his relentless investigation into asymmetrical shapes and Indian geometric cuts will continue to astound through cleverly cut unstructured sarongs, lavishly louche kaftans, daring and dreamlike sari gowns. At once affording him the title of the first Indian resort wear designer.
Wendellu2019s was a curious mind. It was the late Mario Miranda, 18 years ago, who first got him interested about Goan clothing from the point of view of function and tradition.
In 2012, his explorations took shape of Moda Goa, a book that traced the role of dress. In December 2018, Wendellu2019s ancestral home in Goau2019s Colvale village that he has shared with Marrel, his partner for 24 years, took on a new identity u2014 The Moda Goa Museum. It was his dream to make it a home to Goau2019s oldest clothing, artefacts and accessories traditions. The museum was scheduled to open on March 28.
u201c Getting into fashion, back in 1986, I quit my high- paying job in hotel management to study fashion,u201d he had said, u201c It was the best decision.u201d Thank you, Wendell. Hope you approve of this piece.
To Sir, with love The man who brought resort wear to India cared about everything from socio- political issues to LGBTQI+ affairs to design space and Bollywood interference in fashion and never minced words while airing his opinion
