• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Westside to wear Wendell pret line

Sudha Menon

PUNE, Oct. 29

FORMER Lakme boss and Chairperson of Trent Ltd, the elegant Ms. Simone Tata, has effected a minor coup in the fashion retailing world having just signed on avante garde fashion designer, Mr Wendell Rodericks, to supply a pret line to her retail chain, We stside.

The Goa-based designer, known for his penchant for environment-friendly fashion, has been roped in by Ms Tata for a pret line in western and fusion wear. Mr Rodericks' clothes have already made a low-profile entry into some of Westside's retail outlets s ince last week, probably timed to coincide with the festive season spending spree by customers.

``Wendell is very good with fusion fashion which is very happening just now and I love his style of chic but informal clothes,'' Ms Tata told Business Line. ``Besides, he has made a formidable reputation for his label and is a hot favourite in Mumbai,'' she added.

Mr Rodericks, it may be recalled, left Mumbai's dog-eat-dog world of fashion designing a few years ago to head back home to Goa where he now runs a stylish design studio, `Wendell Rodericks Design Space', in Panjim.

The designer is a favourite with the jet-setting crowd in Mumbai and other major cities and retails at, among other places, Mumbai's upscale Ensemble. The designer, known for his love of sharp silhouettes and natural fabrics, will supply a range of trous ers, tops, skirts and yes, even salwar kameezes to Westside, Ms Tata said.

Ms Tata, herself known for her impeccable sartorial sense, has made it her mission to make her lifestyle retail chain the one-stop shop for all things stylish, elegant and affordable, especially women's wear. The lady herself regularly travels to Europe to look at fashion trends: ``The trick lies in catching fashion trends before they hit store shelves,'' she said some time ago.

Which probably explains why she was a front-bencher at the recently-concluded Lakme India Fashion at the Taj Mumbai, where some of the country's best-known fashion designers showcased their pret collection. ``We have already introduced Kolkata design lab el MonaPali at Westside, now we have Wendell and I am negotiating with a few other well-known designers for their lines also,'' Ms Tata said.

``Westside will stock their collections by rotation so that style-conscious customers walking into the store are sure to find something that appeals to them.''

Ms Tata, meanwhile, is also getting ready to open a new outlet of Westside at New Delhi's Lajpat Nagar which, she says, will be open by early 2002.