The runway & beyond

“He’s been the strongest pillar of support in my life; without him there would have been no Wendell Rodricks,” he confesses. The designer is in a revelatory mood even as he readies for the launch of his next book,titled The Green Room. Essentially a memoir,the book gives us a candid and irreverent account of the man who introduced India to minimalism,stylish resort wear and eco-friendly fashion. At the same time,it also takes a scathing look at the Indian fashion industry (“No one belongs here except beautiful mannequins,make-up and hair armies,dressers culled from local fashion schools and the designer’s team” reads a line from the book). It’s only fitting then that the book will be released on August 7 at Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Winter/Festive ‘12 where he will also be showing his latest collection. “It’s a line that has a timeless appeal,” he says.

Ask him as to what made him follow up his book on Goa — Moda Goa: History and Style — with one about himself and Wendell says that he wanted to offer hope to today’s young designers. After all,Rodricks has gone from growing up in a “glorified Bombay chawl” crowded with eccentrics to building homes in places like Muscat,Istanbul and the French Riviera. “If I could make it,anyone with dreams,creativity and a willingness to work hard can. The actual writing of the book took a mere four months. What transpired later took two years as I had to add an epilogue for the years between 2010 to 2012,” adds the designer.

Interestingly,he insists that he has many more books in him,his next one being a text book on how to cut clothes using Indian geometry. “I intend to apply for a Fulbright scholarship to go teach at a college in San Francisco and write the book at the same time in summer 2013. I learnt draping in the USA,so I want to show them our way of cutting and the technique of how to transfer flat fabric to drapes using Indian geometry,” he reveals.

Meanwhile,Rodricks — who is credited with dressing style icons such as Catherine Deneuve,Meg Ryan,Lisa Ray and Freida Pinto — will be doing a spate of shows across the country this year. Notwithstanding his trying early years,he emphasises that he has had no regrets so far. “If there were a few bad moments,there was a valid lesson to learn,” he says.