Panaji, Feb 12 (IANS): Well-known fashion designer, gay rights activist and Padma Shri awardee Wendell Rodricks died on Wednesday evening, following a prolonged illness.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Nilakanth Halarnkar, BJP MLA from the Thivim Assembly constituency and a longtime associate of the 60-year-old designer, confirmed his death.
"Yes, it is true. He died at 5.45 pm today. He was ailing for a long time," Halarnkar said.
Family sources said that the funeral is scheduled for Thursday.
Rodricks, one of the most popular fashion designers from Goa, was awarded a Padma Shri in 2014 and was also accorded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts Et Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2015.
As a designer, he has been credited with reviving the Kunbi saree, worm by the indigenous Kunbi tribal women of Goa.
He was in the process of setting up a museum 'Moda Goa Museum and Research Centre', which Rodricks had dedicated to clothes and fashion in Goa through the ages.
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