Wendell Rodricks x PAIO
Wendell Rodricks was an Indian fashion designer and author based in the western Indian region of Goa. Born and raised in Mumbai, Wendell Rodricks originally trained to work in catering, but soon realized that his true passion lay in fashion design, and he went on to study the same in Los Angeles and Paris. His first collection from Goa in 1989, earned him the title ‘Guru of Minimalism’ and his next collection in 1995 pioneered the concept of ‘resort wear’ and ‘eco-friendly’ garments at a time the words were not yet coined in India.
He was the first Indian designer to be invited to IGEDO (the world's largest garment fair) in 1995, the first Indian designer to open the Dubai Fashion Week in 2001, and was even invited to present at the Paris Pret a Porter salon in 2007. He was a fellow design member of the Fashion Design Council of India.
Rodricks was known for pioneering the idea of resort wear and for advocating eco-friendly fashion. In 2010, he revived the traditional Goan attire of the Kunbi sari. He was also a part of the khadi movement, and even promoted it at the world's largest organic fair, BioFach, at Nuremberg, Germany, in 2011 when he was invited there. In 2017, he presented a collection for plus-size women at the Lakme Fashion Week.
Apart from Fashion, Rodricks contributed to journals of travel and art and even wrote about food, especially Goan cuisine. In 2012, Rodricks released his autobiography, titled The Green Room, and in 2017 he released Poskem: Goans in the Shadows, which is a work of fiction.
Since 1993, Rodricks had been living in a 450-year old house in Colvale, called "Casa Dona Maria". In 2016, he converted this house into a museum of Goan fashion. This museum is named the "Moda Goa Museum and Research Centre". Rodricks had been working on collecting exhibits for it since 1998 when he began his research into Goa's costumes and clothing. He had since collected 800 exhibits, ranging from an original Pano Bhaju, to Reita Faria's bathing suit (which won her the title of Miss World in 1966), to an Apsara found in a nearby field dating to a Buddhist monastery from the seventh century.
Rodricks also wrote a column in the Goa-based monthly Goa Today, where he often raised issues of social concerns and the environment. He had spoken out against the IRFW (India Resort Fashion Week) as it "damages the environment" in 2012. Eventually, in 2018, he started a helpline for the LGBTQ community with the help of Ruby Almeida, the co-chair of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, and in 2019, he petitioned against the demolition of a 100-year old church in Colvale, Goa.
Wendell Rodricks x PAIO
Taking ahead his love for eco-friendly fashion, resort wear, and simplicity, we have curated this collection with lots of love and the utmost attention to detail. Wendell Rodricks x PAIO consists of 14 beautiful, elegant, and comfortable pairs, including 4 slip-ons for men.
Keeping our collection's tone minimalistic, stylish and soft, all the colors bring about a soothing state of mind and help you curate and finish the best looks for various occasions. Hues of pastel greys, whites, and creams with shell, beads, and stone embellishments for women, and browns, orange, yellow for men give all the pairs a classic look.
All designs are handmade in India, completely eco-friendly, and are all essentials you will need in your wardrobe and made to give you all the comfort you need from your footwear. We thoroughly enjoyed merging the design sensibilities of PAIO and Wendell through this collection! Our goal was to create classy but unique styles that were easy to wear, style with multiple outfits and yet paid homage to the brand Wendell Rodricks.