ABG- Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) is a part of USD 44.3 billion Aditya Birla Group. The gigantic fashion house has a number of brands under it’s belt. Out of these, one brand that stands out for me is Forever 21. Forever 21 has been an integral part of almost every girl’s life. Be it style, statement or quality, ABFRL is bound to stand out. There is one striking incident which I clearly recall upon. I was supposed to look after the outfit curation for the fashion team in my college. This was with regard to a very prestigious competition, we could not make any mistakes. The competition was inter-city and the shipment consisting the outfits was supposed to arrive two days before the show. As luck would have it, our shipment got botched up during transit. We were all despondent with hope when I suddenly caught sight of this yellow bag which always brought a smile on my face, FOREVER 21! My knight in shining armour. I have used the brand any occasion one can name, alongside names like Van Heusen and Pantaloons. Due to a strong presence in all major Indian cities, locating a store was no ordeal. I rushed to the store and stood in awe of the subtle yet brilliant collection of clothes. The layout of the store made it easy for me to navigate through the different sections. Systematic arrangements of size, colour, latest collection and seasonal trends helped me curate different sets of outfit as if it were cakewalk. The doom had been shunned away. I guess it wouldn’t be a difficult question to answer as to who won the competition post the entry of our savior.
“Go big or go home”. Sometimes, a person is neither able to make it big nor find his home because he feels lost and helpless. I was born and bred in Jamshedpur. It was a small, simple town where people devoted their lives to education, work and their families. After completing my schooling, I had to move to the city, “Mumbai” for completion of higher studies. I was nerve-wracked to be precise. The speed, the thrill, the vigour was initially overwhelming. There was no time to stop, breathe and contemplate about my life. I was lucky to enter one of the best colleges of Mumbai. Then again, good things never came easy. I felt like a small fish in a huge pond. It was difficult to stand out because of the din and bustle. I was unable to mix well, initiate conversations and mix well. Things looked forlorn. I decided that this was it, make it or break it. I propelled myself out of my comfort zone. I took part in class discussions avidly, started mixing with people no matter how much the initial awkwardness would be. I also shut down the “small city” stereotypes which came my way. Another let down was how I was mocked for my different accent due to being from another region. I took it in good spirit and started telling people more about my culture. Things took a long time to get streamlined. Effective communication helped me convey that a person’s language, birthplace, degrees of education have no say in who he is as a person, or what defines his character. Every individual is unique, and this is how I proved my uniqueness in spite of the odds.