Apparel March 2020 Apparel March 2020 issue | Page 74

@Eve's
In October 1995 I was
searching for a designer to
represent India at the IGEDO
fashion fair,the largest ready –
to – wear fair across Europe,
in Dusseldorf. The German
fashion fraternity had never
heard of Indian designers
so convincing them to invite
one was a herculean task.
Knowing what perfectionists the e
Germans are and their perfectly y
organised and punctual nature, ,
I had to select a designer to
match the German standards.
Wendell was my first and only
choice because I don’t think I
have ever met a person who is
so organised, punctual, perfect t
and methodical in whatever he
does. His ‘Clothing the Soul’
line at the IGEDO created
a sensation amongst the
audience and media. The outfits
ts
for the brochure were modelled
d
by top international model
Helena Christensen.
FASHION SPEAK
I first met Wendell Sir on the day
of our Gen Next Show when he
wanted to meet the new Batch of
Gen Next Designers. That is the
kind of love he had for fashion and
for the younger designers. He was
as much a mentor as he was an idol
for them. It was shocking to hear of
the loss exactly a day after all the
Gen Next designers’ show. Most
of them were loved and mentored
by him on the LFW platform that
he was instrumental in starting
and nurturing.
SHREEJITH JEEVAN
– KERALA’S TOP DESIGNER
72
I APPAREL I
March 2020
In September 1992 Eve’s Weekly, now a
monthly, where too I was the Fashion Editor,
decided to publish a fashion column on how to
design for readers. Once again I could only zero
– in on Wendell whose sketches were not only
amazing but his writing too was lucid and clear
enough for readers to understand. He started
with the ‘Aprons Away’ column then followed
it with ‘Neck to Neck’ in
November 1992 and ‘Campus
Chic’ in January 1993.
The most difficult project
for me was the collection that
was to be launched for the
visually impaired. I entrusted
this too to Wendell and he
created a fantastic line called
‘Visionnaire’ in April 2001 with
matching jewellery.
What was wonderful about
Wendell was his sense of
adventure when it came to
fashion designing. He loved
a challenge and pushed
his creativity to the ultimate
limits. Wendell was a thinking
person’s designer and forced
the audience to figure out how