Wendell Rodricks Age, Death, Wife, Family, Children, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Wendell Rodricks

• Did Wendell Rodricks drank alcohol?: Yes
  

  Wendell Rodrics’ Instagram post

• After his graduation, he joined the Royal Oman Police (ROP) Officers Club in the City of Muscat in 1982. However, he could not remain in the profession and decided to pursue fashion designing. He pursued fashion designing from London and Paris, with the help of his savings from his job in Oman.
  

  Wendell Rodricks in Oman

• He also served the former Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said from 1982 to 1986, when he was working in Oman.

• After completing his fashion designing course, he interned at the National Museum of Costume and Fashion in Lisbon (on the conservation of pre-21st century garments), and the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City (on modern garments, under the museum’s director, Valerie Steele).

• He started his career as a fashion designer by designing for popular brands like Garden Vareli, Lakmé Cosmetics, and DeBeers.

• He launched his own label ‘Wendell Rodricks’ in 1989. His first show with his label was held at the Regal Room of Oberoi Hotel.
  

• In the show, his collection consisted of twelve organza tunics, with the models like Mehr Jesia, and out of all his ensembles, only six were complete; as he did not have enough fund to supply models with shoes or bottoms for their dress. His first collection earned him the title of ‘Guru of Minimalism.’

• In 1995, came his second collection, which introduced the concept of ‘resort wear’ and ‘eco-friendly garments,’ the terms which were remote to India at that time.

• He is the first designer from India to be invited for shows at IGEDO in Germany (1995), Dubai Fashion Week (2001), Malaysia Fashion Week (2002), the prestigious Paris Pret-a-Porter Salon (2007), and the world’s biggest organic fair, BioFach in Nuremberg, Germany (2012).

• In 2011, at Nuremberg, Germany, he promoted Khadi wear at BioFach, the world’s largest organic fair, as a part of Khadi Movement.

• In 2010, he revised the Goan attire of the Kunbi Sari and showcased them at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. His efforts in revival of the dying craft; earned him appreciation from Sonia Gandhi, Sheila Dishit, and Pratibha Patil.
  

  Wendell Rodrics- Revival of Kunbi Sari

• In 2014, he paid a tribute to Rekha at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW), on the occasion of her 60th birthday. He was very close to Rekha and considered her as his soul sister.
  

  Wendell Rodricks with Rekha

• In 2016, he announced his retirement from his label, in an effort to concentrate on his museum “Moda Goa Museum and Research Centre.” He handed his label over to his student, Schulen Fernandes.

• He presented a collection for plus-size women at Lakme Fashion Week 2017.
  

  Wendell Rodricks at Lakme Fashion Week 2017

• In 1998, the late cartoonist and painter, and a close acquaintance of Wendell, Mario Miranda requested him to write a chapter on Pano Bhaju, a traditional outfit worn to perform Mando in Goa. He started researching on the subject in detail, and in the process, Wendell interned at Lisbon and New York and learned Portuguese to be able to read ancient texts, relating to the outfit. The years of his research was finally published in 2012 by Harper Collins, in his book “Moda Goa: History and Style.”
  

  Mario Miranda

• He also wrote for many magazines, coffee table books, and anthologies and wrote on subjects like travel and art, and food, especially Goan cuisines.

• He made cameo appearances in the Bollywood film  “Boom” (2003) and the television play “True West” (2002). He also made an appearance in the 2008 Bollywood film “Fashion” as himself.

• Since 1993, Wendell and his husband, Jerome were living in a 450-year-old house in Colvale called Casa Dona Maria. In 2016, they shifted to a smaller house and converted the house to a museum. The museum is named “Moda Goa Museum and Research Centre.”
  

  Moda Goa Museum and Research Centre

• He was also a social activist and raised his voice on the issues concerning the environment and gay rights. He also used to write a column for Goa Today; focusing on various social and environmental issues. In 2012, he advocated against the IRFW (India Resort Fashion Week), which, according to Wendell was damaging the environment.

• In 2018, he opened a helpline for LGBTQ+ community, with the help of Ruby Almeida, the co-chair of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics.

• In 2019, he petitioned against the demolition of a 100-year old church in Colvale, Goa.

• He is the godfather of Arhaan Khan, the son of Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora.

• He was instrumental in launching the careers of the famous Bollywood celebrities like Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma. He recommended Deepika Padukone (who had been modelling for him for roughly two years) for the film “Om Shanti Om” (2007) to Malaika Arora, who in turn recommended her to Farah Khan. He also launched Anushka Sharma as a model at Les Vamps Show at the Lakme Fashion Week 2007 and also encouraged her to move to Mumbai.
  

  Wendell Rodricks with Anushka Sharma

• He met Jerome Marrel for the first time when he was working for the Royal Oman Police (ROP) Officers Club in 1983. A friend of Wendell had introduced him to Jerome. After staying in a relationship for a few years, they both got married in a civil ceremony in Paris in 2002. Wendell gave credits to Marrel for his success as a fashion designer, which he mentioned in his book “The Green Room.”

• He liked to cook and often used to post photos of his recipes on his social media account.
  

  Wendell Rodrics’ Instagram post

• He loved animals and owned two dogs named Zoe and Zorba, and a cat named Freddy.
  

  Wendell Rodricks with his Dogs

• Apart from being a fashion designer, he also had an interest in music and used to sing and knew how to play the guitar.

View this post on Instagram

For those who wanted the audio, here it is. And you better buy the CD when it’s out in 2020 ?

A post shared by Wendell Rodricks (@wendellrodricks) on Dec 1, 2019 at 9:20am PST