Turning Goa Into A Fashion Hub

Meher Castelino speaks to Pallav Ojha and Neha Asthana about turning the sunshine state into a fashion buzzhouse

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The late Wendell Rodricks turned the beach resort state Goa into an haute fashion destination in 1996, when he opened the first designer store in Panjim. Since then, Indian designers have flocked to this holiday state selling their fashion stories to the locales as well as the international buyers.

In 2018, two fashion mavericks, co-founders, Pallav Ojha, CEO and Neha Asthana, Head of Fashion of COMODesigners Collective opened its doors in Goa and turned the state into a one-stop shopping centre for fashionistas. With two successful branches of the store in Goa, and one in Nepal retailing over hundred national and international brands, it was but natural that Pallav Ojha would bring back to Goa, the much loved Wendell Rodricks label, which was silent after the designer’s untimely passing away in February 2020.

WENDELL RODRICKS FASHION CONTRIBUTION

Pallav Ojha and Neha Asthana described the reason for the Wendell Rodricks label launch and their future plans for Goa as a fashion hub.

“Wendell Rodricks has inspired many people and especially for a brand like us to make an impact with the idea of India to the world. Post his demise, his admirers felt like it was the end of an era. We were really happy to know Purple Style Lab’s (PSL) brand acquisition and their desire to take the brand to the next level all over again! We worked on the retail tie-up and business models with PSL to bring the brand back to Goa and offered it “LIVE long” once again! The WR brand will be exclusive with us in Goa and we are working on the vision of the brand for the state.”