“You can have everything in your life if you dress for it”- Edith Head
Though I came across this quote much later in life, I had recognized the importance of a good sartorial statement very early. The milieu I grew up in, allowed me to understand the intangible attributes of colors and seasons. I grew up in a city which was designed by French architect Le Corbusier, who had also designed one of the best buildings in Paris. The place exhibited the best of each phase of the day, as well as the year. My sister and mother made sure that I was dressed in decent shades like sky and lemon, in tidy, tucked-in polos. My father always said that you can tell a lot about a man just by looking at his shoes.
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) line of the Aditya Birla Group was present throughout the passage of time. I can still draw the sketch of Peter England shirts hanged neatly in my father’s closet. I remember ironing my crisp white “Business” Van Heusen shirt on a fine evening, only to wear it the next day, for interview of the B-school I currently am studying in. The store of “The Collective” in our local mall was always of interest to me. It had a supernatural line drawn at the entrance, which only the ambitious few could cross. Others had to herd through the farther side of the corridor. I have something of professional importance lined up, accomplishing which I’ll drop by to add another prized achievement to my wardrobe. Needless to say, ABFRL had created a sense of aspiration in me.
Fashion is empowering for me. It brings out every quality in me in such a way that is, above all, fulfilling. Does this mean I am materialistic? Maybe, but I’ll be sure to have aligned the best of spirits in the process.