As the new season arrives, Wendell Rodricks, the well-known fashion designer launched his latest collection, ‘Tropical Island’, at the Raintree. Like all his collections, this too has been designed to pay tribute to the urban woman. Except that this time, he has kept the island spirit in mind.

Like the name, the collection has been inspired by the islands of the world. With colours like soft blues, greens and reds one can see that in his own minimalist way of designing, he has obtained a perfect blend of colours for the unpredictable weather of the City.  “Wendell is known for his whites, but this time he has experimented with colour and the result is amazing. However, to keep up with his tradition of using whites, he has created a series of whites for this collection as well,” said Jaya Pravindra, managing partner of Raintree.

Unlike other designer clothes which are meant only for the models on the ramp, this one has been designed to flatter various body shapes, “Usually, we get clothes which no doubt look good but are rarely wearable but this time all the clothes in the collection are wearable,” she added. The garments, though apparently simplistic, are cut with precision based on geometry, transferring flat shapes to drapes like in an Indian saree, lungi or dhoti. The fabrics are woven in tiny villages and are often dyed with leaves collected by tribals, which is part of an ongoing seven year programme that the designer supports.

Apart from tops, Wendell has also included crinkled wave scarves, batik hand-painted seamed sarongs, seamless ribbon and elastic mesh dresses, matisse foam skirts and accessories in his collection. Button insert, petal shaped lycra surface embellishment and layered trapeze line tunics are quite an interesting wear for a night out in the City.

 The collection is currently on display at Raintree, Sankey Road, till Wendell comes up with his next collection for the season.