Tag: Malaika Arora

RUBINA’S RADAR | JIO WORLD PLAZA OPENS IN MUMBAI

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NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Ahead of its opening on November 1st, 2023, Isha Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, alongside her parents, Mukesh and Nita Ambani, hosted an extravagantly appointed preview of the Jio World Plaza at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai on October 31st. The Jio World Plaza’s nothing like India has ever seen, and it stands to change the landscape of luxury in India in a manner most indulgent, aspirational and consumeristic. Cartier, Dior, Rolex, Giorgio Armani, Saint Laurent, Gucci, Balenciaga, Valentino, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Muji and Samsung are just some of the 66 luxury brands housed in the glimmering plaza, vying for your attention and your bucks, but of course. Tiffany & Co, Rimowa, Saint Laurent, Valentino, Versace, Bulgari and Pottery Barn marked their presence at the plaza, and in India, with their very first stores in the country. For culinary indulgences, coffee and sweet conversations, there’s the Parisian Laduree and the Italian Armani Cafe. Looking at the expanse of the space spread over four levels and the signages of brands, you can’t not think, jio luxury jio! Prior to the opening of JWP, luxury brands were compelled to open stores in hotels due to a dearth of quality retail space in the country. But thankfully, the plaza has called in the death of the archaic, hotel-housed luxury store model in India. The raison d’etre for the Jio World Plaza was best expressed by Nita Ambani, at the opening affair, “We want to bring the world to India and take India to the world.”

Jio World Plaza, Mumbai | Photographed by Rubina A Khan

The Cartier store, inaugurated by brand ambassador, Deepika Padukone, has the headlining space of 2500 square feet right at the entrance of the plaza. The rents at JWP are commensurate to the luxuries on offer, and the square footage of space, but naturally. Christian Dior’s Indian arm, Christian Dior Trading India has leased a space of 3317 square feet in the plaza from Reliance Industries for upwards of INR 21 Lakh a month, the rental of which is based on the minimum monthly guaranteed sum or net revenue share, contributions ranging from 4% to 12%, whichever is higher, as reported by Reuters. India’s 1.4 billion population is the largest in the world and real estate consultants, Knight Frank, estimate India will have 1.4 million millionaires by 2026, 77% more than in 2021, as the economy continues to grow. India’s per capita income as of 2023 is INR 1,92,000 ($2,300) and the country has more than 800,000 millionaires. These millionaires, who make up only 0.06% of India’s total population of 1.4 billion, are ready to flash and splash their cash on all things expensive, but not necessarily luxurious. After all, an expensive price tag is a hashtag to immediate Instagram fame and validation for some, and a discreet buy for connoisseurs of luxury.

Shloka and Akash Ambani, Mukesh Ambani and Radhika Merchant, ©Ranveer Singh, ©Isha Ambani and ©Nita Ambani | Photographed by Rubina A Khan

This is the third Reliance extravaganza of 2023 celebrating the international worlds of art, fashion, sports and culture in India. The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) multi-day opening gala on April 1st, the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance at the Jio World Centre on October 14th and the Jio World Plaza opening on October 31st has had Indians entranced with the sheer scale of the build, both physical and fiscal, and the glamour power attached to them. The entire Jio complex, including the Jio World Garden, Jio World Drive and the Jio World Convention Centre, took about 13 years to build.

©Karisma Kapoor Jio World Plaza, Manish Malhotra and Rubina A Khan, Nora Fatehi, ©Alia Bhatt and Janhvi Kapoor | Photographed by Rubina A Khan

The JWP opening saw a theatrical fashion show, The New Order of Style, choreographed by Aparna and Anisha Bahl, showcasing eight designers, with 21 showstoppers, 40 performers and 120 models on the second level of the plaza, with an opening address by Isha Ambani, the hostess of the night. Manish Malhotra’s Bombay Bordeaux collection was fire and desire in bold colours and styles, with Karisma Kapoor working a red haute sari suit on her lithe frame, and Janhvi Kapoor, Nora Fatehi and Karan Johar walking the show for him. Abraham & Thakore’s collection was an artistic smorgasbord of delicious monochromatic blacks and whites. The original model mould and butt bold, John Abraham, walked for Satya Paul by Rajesh Pratap Singh. Miss Supranational Asia 2022, Ritika Khatnani walked for Ritu Kumar’s beautiful collection, as did Sara Ali Khan for Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, and many more beautiful ladies and gents walking for the designers. But can there be a fashion spectacle in Bombay without Ranveer Singh? Evidently not, and his runway appearance elicited roaring cheers from the guests as he walked in a bejewelled black dhoti and blazer at the end of the showing. Singh then went on to turn compere for the evening, bringing in Nita Ambani’s 60th birthday (November 1st) with effusive praise for her beauty, elegance and visionary work. She wore a gold Kanjivaram saree to the opening, made by master artisan, Somadas. Known as a Kanchi Pattu and woven in the korvai style in pure silk zari, from her yet-to-launch Swadesh initiative by the Reliance Foundation, the sari was an ode to India’s master craftsmen. Seated by Kokilaben Ambani, Mukesh and Nita Ambani, Akash and Shloka Ambani, Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, were Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Pinky and Sanjay Reddy, and many more guests. Everyone looked fabulous and happy with the fashion theatre, culinary delights, late night shopping, open bars and the high ceilings.

Laila Lamba, Malaika Arora, Poonam Bhagat and Shalini Hinduja | Photographed by Rubina A Khan

FIVE THINGS I LOVED AT THE JIO WORLD PLAZA OPENING:

  1. The red carpet photo ops are held inside air-conditioned confines, with no one breaking into a sweat literally, with melting makeup, guests and photographers alike.
  2. Isha Ambani in Dior (she changed a few times through the evening – she does own the plaza after all!) Alia Bhatt in Gaurav Gupta and Malaika Arora in Alaia were the black beauties of the night.
  3. The basil and cinnamon ice cream and the Laduree macarons.
  4. Ranveer Singh’s sincere compering skills in a colloquial style that held the attention of the attendees.
  5. The plaza itself and that the evening was orchestrated flawlessly and impeccably with the most genteel and polite staff. I mean, even the security dogs barked politely!

Let the Reliance Return on Investments (RROI’s) begin as Reliance is here to play as you pay!

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©Rubina A Khan 2023

RUBINA’S RADAR | LIGHTS, CAMERA, DELHI!

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OCTOBER 20, 2023

New Delhi has been courting glamour with the 69th National Film Awards being held at Vigyan Bhawan on October 17th, 2023 and the Netflix series, Fabulous Lives kicking off filming in the capital for its third season next week. The third edition of the series has a new cast from Delhi added to the original cast from Bombay. Haute talk between the Mumbai and Delhi wives? Let the heads roll right into the tea spills!

NEW DELHI: Actors Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon won their first National Award for Best Actress – a joint honour for both with separate trophies of course – at the 69th National Film Awards at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on October 17th, 2023. Bhatt won a very well-deserved award for her portrayal as the self-assured protagonist in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi and as did Sanon for her performance in Laxman Utekar’s Mimi. Sanon and Bhatt received their awards from President Droupadi Murmu, the former wearing a custom Manish Malhotra sari at the felicitation, and the latter, her ivory and gold wedding sari. India’s elegant beauty and legendary actor, Waheeda Rehman was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award at the award ceremony. Interestingly, Allu Arjun made history by becoming the first Telugu actor to receive a National award for Best Actor for his performance in Pushpa: The Rise. 

©Alia Bhatt

NEW DELHI: The third season of the Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives started filming in Mumbai this week with its original cast of the Bombay wives. Next week, it’s Delhi’s turn to take to the lights and cameras. This season of the series will see the glamorous and beautiful Riddhima Kapoor-Sahni, daughter of Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, alongside other Delhi wives added to the mix of the original Bollywood wives. The first and second editions of the Fabulous Lives aired on Netflix in November 2020 and September 2022, with actor Neelam, Bhavna Panday, Seema Sajdeh and Maheep Kapoor headlining the series, and Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan making a coupled cameo. Will we see Ranbir Kapoor make an appearance on the show for his sister? Maybe. There is also talk of Netflix renaming the show to just Fabulous Lives this season as the Delhi wives are not Bollywood wives. It could be very well be called Fabulous Lives Of Glamorous Wives, but then again, not everyone is glamorous or a wife in the cast this season. Glam damn! There’s still time to name it as the series is set to air in the second half of 2024.

©Riddhima Kapoor-Sahni

MUMBAI: Malaika Arora, the Khaleesi of sexy, in body and brain, struts a fashion runway like no other in India. She has been walking the walk for years now, carrying off every imaginable kind of garment with styled and poised ease. No season of fashion week, pret or couture, is complete without her panthera walk. And she definitely knows how to make coin, seducing the cameras with her sharp fashion face. A trained ballerina, Arora danced her way into every Indian’s heart with her graceful moves in Chaiyya Chaiyya atop a moving train in Dil Se, 25 years ago, and her ways and sways have been fire since. She does love the F word when it comes to her investment portfolio – Food, Fashion and Fitness. She has since evolved from dance numbers to crunching fiscal numbers in fashion (The Label Life), fitness (Diva Yoga) and food businesses as an investor and owner.

MUMBAI, INDIA – MAY 06: Malaika Arora attends the Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023 Event on May 06, 2023 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)

She celebrates yet another age-defying birthday on October 23rd, making it a very Malaika Monday. Interestingly, she shares her birthday with British actor, Emilia Clarke who played Khaleesi on the Game Of Thrones.

Disclaimer: Any part of the content on the rubinaakhan.com website cannot be reproduced without prior permission and crediting the website and the author.

©Rubina A Khan 2023

Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023 In Mumbai

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Mumbai is where the fame and glamour games are at, but since March 2023, an almost impossible party métier seems to have been set in basalt by the city, upon itself. The bar was raised irrevocably by the magnitude and magnificence of French fashion house, Christian Dior’s pre fall 2023 runway show held at the Gateway of India on March 30, so much so that no one remembers or wants to remember ABCD – A Before Christian Dior era! Mumbai shows no signs of tailing off the money shots any time soon, with Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023 shaking up the city’s May calendar with its beguiling arrival.

MUMBAI, INDIA – MAY 06: A general view of the music stage at the Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023 Event on May 06, 2023 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)

The fourth edition of Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023, called the Kaleidoscope of Time, was held on Saturday, May 6th in Mumbai at Snowball Studios in Worli. Time as a construct cannot be contained, but it can certainly be felt, such was the ubiquitous theme of the haute summer night. Oscillating between the then and now, the alluring blue-hued night reiterated the universal infinitude that today’s new is tomorrow’s vintage through fashion, art, music and food in a manner most luxurious.

Five virtuosos played host in previous years at Chivas Alchemy, expressing themselves through the five senses of Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch, but this edition had eighteen this time around, dix huit being the magic number of the award-winning Chivas 18 whisky blend.

The night was separated by rooms, each echoing the spirit of the artistry exhibited in it. Eleven design minds, ranging from established Indian designers to emerging ones, showcased their fashion genres through live installations in the main room, ably complemented by the art on the walls, a very busy bar and of course beautiful people like Malaika Arora, Arjun Kapoor, Rahul Khanna, Pulkith Modi, Kunal Kapoor, Narendra Kumar, Rajesh Pratap Singh and so many more at the party. There were almost a thousand people in attendance! The second area had an art installation with a bar right by it and a mezzanine bar above. The third room was where the party was really at with an edible centrepiece and culinary experiences par excellence by Ekaa Mumbai, Koko and Eat Drink Design. Chef Niyati Rao of Ekaa Mumbai is a culinary genius! The live musical act by Delhi businessman Ajay Bijli, and his band, Random Order, had everyone singing and dancing to his dulcet sounds – he’s got some pipes – and DJ Masha from Belarus turned up contemporary beats on her turntable, with yet another open bar led by mixologist, Giovanni Depergola from Dubai. Four open bars raising the party bar in Mumbai!

The interpretation of the night was yours, and yours alone, whether you loved the vintage, heritage vibe or the modern, hedonistic one. Everything in Mumbai is now evaluated in an AD (After Dior) parameter and that’s a tall order in itself, and I think that Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023 was a wicked success making it one of the top three events in the city so far – it was mounted and orchestrated on a lush scale, with an attendance as bold and seductive as its whisky blends!

Disclaimer: Any part of the content on the rubinaakhan.com website cannot be reproduced without prior permission and crediting the website and the author.

©Rubina A Khan 2023

RUBINA’S RADAR | CHIVAS 18 ALCHEMY 2019 IN NEW DELHI

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A touchdown in New Delhi fires up all five senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste in a human, instanter, sensus communis (common sense) be damned. And the night of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16 was no different. Chivas 18 Alchemy’s majestic third edition traversed the sixth sense at The Pavilion, DLF Emporio, belying Aristotle’s postulations of the non-existence of it with inimitable ardour. The five virtuosos playing host to a splendorous evening of the undefined and the very refined, were actor Malaika Arora, fashion designer Manish Malhotra, artist Sudarshan Shetty, fashion designer Rahul Mishra and jewellery designer Siddharth Kasliwal. They interpreted the senses of Fantasy, Intuition, Love, Memory and Déjà vu, with their muse being the award-winning Chivas 18 whisky blend.

NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Fashion designers Ashish N Soni, Rahul Mishra and Manish Malhotra and Malaika Arora, jewelry designer Siddharth Kasliwal, artist Sudarshan Shetty and Chivas India’s Pulkith Modi attend the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)

Malaika Arora sets off flames of fantasy wherever she goes, so turning into an illusionist of fantasy, alongside fashion designer and curator of the night, Ashish N Soni, came naturally to her. She created an immersive and polychromatic world of the real and imagined, using the Chivas whisky drop, brimful of 85 notes. Arora (soon to be Kapoor) looked stunning in a white ensemble by Soni, accessorised with an emerald and diamond necklace from Siddharth Kasliwal’s Gem Palace, as she took guests on a tour of her fantasia wonderland.

NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Malaika Arora at the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Malaika Arora and her installation are seen at the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Malaika Arora attends the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Fashion designer Ashish N Soni at the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)

Manish Malhotra created an amber-toned Chivas 18 bar, in what is now recognised as the Chivas Alchemy blue, to instantiate his sense of intuition. It was a glimmering mirage of mirrors, with glamorous people all around it, drinking to the night, and into the night.

NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: A general view of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Fashion designer Manish Malhotra attends the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: A view of the bar at Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)

Sudarshan Shetty interpreted the sense of love, by juxtaposing a shattered chandelier on a dining table against a celluloid version of the same table and chandelier, set to Indian ragas. The eight-minute odd film spoke of love in different languages, expressed by diverse people. It was as evocatively beautiful as it was unnerving.

NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Artist Sudarshan Shetty attends the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Artist Sudarshan Shetty’s interpretation of love with an immersive celluloid experience at the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)

Siddharth Kasliwal designed an arresting Chivas 18 bottle in gold with precious stones, over period of three months. Just looking at it in all its golden glory was enough to tempt a heist among the women, ala Oceans 8. The bejewelled masterpiece was an ode to the lost art of Indian craftsmanship through generations – a revival of lost legacies so to speak. Needless to add, but it was the most photographed installation of the night.

NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: A bejewelled Chivas 18 bottle designed by jeweller Siddharth Kasliwal for three months to evoke the sense of deja vu, at an estimated value of $50,000 at the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Parag Gupta with jewelry designer Siddharth Kasliwal and his mother Kalpana Kasliwal and brother Samarth Kasliwal attend the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: A view of the bejeweled Chivas 18 bottle designed by jewelry designer Siddharth Kasliwal at the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)

Rahul Mishra’s installation for the sense of memory saw tambour frame hoops, creating a chandelier of memories in a play of light and shadows, blending layers of time with the ingredients found in Chivas 18. The unfinished embroideries on the ivory organza fabric was intentional to elicit one to add an element of one’s own memory to the pattern. To elucidate something as intimate and fleeting as memory, not to mention intangible, with something as simple as embroidery hoops was astounding.

NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Fashion designer Rahul Mishra’s embroidery patterns on organza are seen at the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Fashion designer Rahul Mishra’s embroidery patterns on organza are seen at the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Fashion designer Rahul Mishra poses with his work at the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 16: Fashion designer Rahul Mishra’s embroidery patterns on organza are seen at the third edition of Chivas 18 Alchemy 2019 on March 16, 2019 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)

Pulkith Modi – Chivas India with wife Teena, Samarth Kasliwal, Kalpana Kasliwal, Parag Gupta, Guillaume Girard-Redyet – CEO Pernod-Ricard India MD South Asia and his wife Cecille, Schulen Fernandes, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Nida Mahmood, Rajiv Makhni and Ruchi Malhotra and Vikram Baidyanath were just some of the fashionable guests in attendance at Chivas Alchemy 2019.  “This is undoubtedly the most sophisticated and refined luxury event in India with the most genteel guests,” said Schulen Fernandes, Creative Director of the fashion label Wendell Rodricks. Touché!

Disclaimer: Any part of the content on the rubinaakhan.com website cannot be reproduced without prior permission and crediting the website and the author.

©Rubina A Khan 2019

Wendell Rodricks On aLL Primero, His First Ever Runway Collection For Plus Sized Fashion Forwards

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Wendell Rodricks is a cultural revivalist with a cause. Conferring the sole status of just a fashion designer to Rodricks, a Padma Shri winning Indian icon, would be a tad indecorous. His is a career of many fashion firsts – from exhibiting a sustainable collection, that’s du jour today, back in the 90s, to being an advisory voice and key player in the first edition of LFW (2000) to working with white cottons and linens to reviving the Goan Kunbi cotton sari weave to writing incisive books on fashion. Rodricks was the first Indian designer to open Dubai Fashion Week (2001) and today, he’s turned into a museologist, converting his private residence into the Moda Goa Museum for all things fashionable and cultural to the state. This Goaphile is doing it all, the aLL Primero collection for plus sizes this season being yet another first in his exemplary career.

Ahead of his August 19 showing at Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2017 in Mumbai, Rodricks spoke exclusively to Rubina A Khan | Gulf News tabloid! 

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Wendell Rodricks with his Creative Director, Schulen Fernandes

The aLL Primero show is the first of its kind in India for plus-sized people at LFW in Mumbai. Does the line adhere to the minimalistic métier of your label?
The aLL Primero Collection by Wendell Rodricks is the first Plus Size line to be shown in a Main Show Area at Fashion Week, bringing it to the public’s attention. The line is similar to our label in terms of minimalism. There is no embellishment, very little sparkle and the aesthetic is in harmony with the Wendell Rodricks philosophy of design. I believe in fashion democracy –  it is for everyone, no matter what age, colour or size. In fact, when we showed the sketches to some of our clients, they wanted to buy them in regular sizes too. I am confident of the Primero line doing very well at LFW and in the aLL Plus size stores. When I see the unnecessary drama and chaos in fashion, I’m amazed and amused. The sycophancy, paranoia and insecurity are surreal. For God’s sake, we are just glorified tailors, not Messiahs of a new religion!

How did you and your label’s creative director, Schulen Fernandes, go about setting up the aLL Primero line, which is in sharp contrast to the vibrant, geometric silhouettes of the AW17 Cubist Rose runway collection?
Primero was conceived entirely by Schulen. She has imbibed my method of working without a mood board as I find them restrictive and they “lift” old concepts and one tends to copy past eras, fabric treatments and colour combinations. I prefer keeping a clear mind.

What is the essence of you that Fernandes has brought into the aLL collection?
Schulen has my DNA very firmly in our collections. It is for this reason that I appointed her my successor. When the media and public look at the new collections, they can’t tell that there is a new person spearheading the collection. It looks like Wendell Rodricks all the way from colour to concept, styling and silhouette.

Exclusive Sketches of the aLL Primero Collection
Exclusive Sketches of the aLL Primero Collection
Exclusive Sketches of the aLL Primero Collection

How does designing for plus sizes vary from a runway collection for slim and lithe bodies?
It’s easier to make runway clothes for regular models as they’re almost factory produced at 34-25-36. With Plus sizes, I love the challenge. People imagine that curvy is all there to Plus sizes, but that’s not true at all as there are hour-glass, apple, pear, carrot and rectangular shapes too. For the aLL show, we chose models that fit every one of these shapes so that voluptuous people can find clothes that suit their shape.

The Cubist Rose collection was loved instantaneously. Do you think Primero will hit a fashion frontier for plus-sized fashion forwards?
I’m certain she will score a hat trick with Primero. She did so with Trapezoid and Cubist Rose. Now it is time for the aLL Primero collection to shine and send out a vibrant, fashion statement. I’ve chosen the music, and the backdrop and I think curvy will be the next trend from LFW. This collection has a happy vibe, quite like the happy people that will wear them.

Cubist Rose by Schulen Fernandes | Wendell Rodricks
Cubist Rose by Schulen Fernandes | Wendell Rodricks
Cubist Rose by Schulen Fernandes | Wendell Rodricks

Will this collection break runway stereotypes in India and encourage more designers to design plus-sized fashion?
There are many myths that we will shatter with the aLL Primero collection. Whites, bright colours, colour blocking, neutrals… most people feel that Plus sizes should stay away from all this. Not at all! We made it a point not to include black in the collection. Black is boring and safe. When I first said ‘white’ for Plus sizes, people gagged. After the show they won’t be gagging, but applauding.

It sounds like you’re bringing voluptuous to the fashion fore with Primero, where skinny takes to the shadows…
Whoever said dogs like bones and men like flesh knew what they were talking about, and 60% of the world’s population of Plus size women will agree. This is a real show for real people and therein lies the strength of the collection. This is real, not virtual fashion fluff.

Who selected the models for the aLL Primero show and was there any training involved for their “runway strut”?
aLL and IMG Reliance had an audition where we chose 21 models from almost 300 entries. We chose them based on their confidence with their own bodies. They are a happy, excited lot. I loved them at first sight. Our choreographer Anu Ahuja, doesn’t want them to do a runway strut. At the fittings she told them, “At the end of it all, comfortable models are happy models”. I second that.

Have you ever had a muse?
Malaika Arora was my first and only muse, till I made all women a collective muse. I have a job to do and I’m obliged to please the public muse. My job is to make them look slimmer, taller and feel more beautiful – that’s all women want.

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Jerome Marrel and Wendell Rodricks at the Poskem book launch in Mumbai

You have the Moda Goa museum opening end 2018, you’re an impassioned traveler, author, you’re designing silverware, gourmet coffees and the Goa Police Band costume and you love food. How do you maintain your fit persona and sense of self with your diverse creative pursuits?
I am a creative spirit. I guess some people are just made this way. People ask me how I do so much all the time. It really is no effort. I am a Gemini and an expert at multi-tasking. But I am also extremely disciplined. After IHM, a career in hotel management in Mumbai and my sweat and blood years working with the Royal Oman Police, handling Sultans, Sheikhs, Presidents, Prime Ministers et al, I realized one can take on the world in a disciplined, restrained and orderly manner. I learnt discipline from a young age. Give me a 24-hour challenge and I will strive to deliver it in 12 hours. As for loving food, I am an epicurean for sure. Since I lived in Paris, I learnt to ‘indulge in limitation’. Do not believe that I eat everything I post on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. I taste, but don’t gorge, except for dark chocolate.

What achievements in your life are you most proud of and what do you love the most?
I don’t think about myself or my past glories at all. For that, there is google and my website, wendellrodricks.com to refresh my memory. There is much to do without thinking of one’s self and developing an unnecessary ego. I would like to learn Sanskrit and Latin. After aLL Primero, I will be focussing on Moda Goa Museum.  I live in a real world in a small village in Goa. Life in an ivory tower is just so not my vibe. Apart from my partner and my dogs, I love this journey called life. I am on a constant high with life and this big, beautiful world.

This feature first appeared in Gulf News on 17 August, 2017

©Rubina A Khan 2017