This, I feel, is an excellent eye opener for all of us. What matters in life is perception, the way we look at things and above all our approach towards fulfilling our aspirations. The will to expand one’s horizons should not be clouded by impediments, but should consider them as a temporary change in the direction to set us straight for our next success. I see each trial in life as a challenge and approach it positively. I believe in developing the focus, discipline, confidence and courage needed to achieve ultimate goals.  Whatever I have achieved till date is due to my honesty, perseverance, optimism and hard work and I shall continue to exhibit these even in my future endeavors. I am extremely comfortable with change and have the ability to accept the most unpleasant changes with grace. The success mantra for me is ‘Crush the enemy called fear, create an action mindset, master your weapons, never grow complacent and most importantly, know yourself.

 

As a child I always appreciated and liked wearing branded and designer clothes. I have always looked up to the designers and tried to observe and understand their sense of styling. After my graduation in Philosophy with a first class, I entered the retail market and did my Diploma in Retail management which was a work study program for a year. I got a wide practical experience at Hakoba Pvt Ltd, which has its Retail chian all over India and is very well known for its Cut work and Fabrics. I completed my internship  working at floor level, trying to understand customer needs, placement of merchandise, selling qualities, Visual merchandising, meeting the deadlines and required monthly sales targets.

 

 The on floor experience was for 6 months and the next 5 months I worked at the back office handling various assignments preparing a presentation for brand management, setting up sales targets for all the Hakoba stores for the sale period and carrying out various market researches by preparing questionnaires, conducting surveys and trying to understand customer needs. I was also responsible for making sure that the stock reaches on time to all the Hakoba stores as per requirement after a complete Quality check of the codes style wise, MRP, defects if any and the final Invoice.

 

As a next step in my career I planned to work for a Design house called Feldi Lifestyles dealing with high end Indian Couture wear as well as prêt, as a Production merchandiser. After realizing my keen interest towards the fashion field I wished to work with a design house and the most interesting of all was the production unit right outside the main office. Every thing was clear as to the labourers efficiency and kind of work they do. I even played a role as a business developer, planning the next coming season as to the number of samples that need to be made for order booking, amount of investment that will incur in making the samples which includes all the production cost as well as the traveling expense for order booking which is a part of the investment chart. I constantly interacted with the existing clients all over India where ever we supplied our products as to the movement of the product or any personalized orders or problems and also contacted new clients dealing with Indian Couture wear as well as prêt labels and fixed up meetings for order booking. As a business developer I used to even plan on taking part in exhibitions, tying up with different high end clubs for brand publicity, making a business plan for our Couture and Prêt label. Once the orders were booked I was in charge of the production right from ordering of fabric, dyeing, embroidery and making sure that all the labourers finish each garment in the given time as per customer needs. Once the garments are ready to be dispatched I used to do a Quality check whether it meets the specifications of the client without any defects or unfinished garment, upto packaging and delivery of goods on the specified date.

 

My professional experience broadened my view about fashion industry and instilled a penchant for teamwork, leadership, creativity and a zest for challenges. It taught me that the basis for good work is self-reliance and very importantly, time management. It helped me to work on my capabilities like carrying out good result oriented work, planning, organizing, decision making and communication skills, which I am sure will help me in a program that is truely innovative and demands much interaction. 

 

I have always been fond of fashion and after entering the retail market and working with a design house as a Merchandiser I have realized my interests more clearly towards the field and plan to take it to a great level for which I wish to pursue my higher studies in Fashion Management so as to get better and a clear picture and gain more in depth knowledge about it. My areas of interest within the field are buying and merchandising. I loved buying, observing (trying to observe seasons as per which customer needs change and most importantly the style) and forecasting. This field even requires great marketing skills, which I want to hone. According to me the Masters Degree in Fashion Management will help me gain great wisdom and confidence towards my work and help me develop the perfect skills required in the field.

 

Fashion industry is a booming market and there are always opportunities and new things to learn and explore it well as per our capability and bring in the best to the world. More than the current progress in the fashion field I am excited by the prospect of where it would take us. The one-year Masters in UK fits my needs as I will be in the job market faster and be a part of the practical world in the shortest possible time.  It is my utmost desire to be a part of the challenging future and my ultimate goal is to make a name of my own.

 

UK is the perfect fashion destination since fashion originated there and it has the best of fashion houses and all the biggest brands in the world. I wish to secure a professional degree and I am glad that the universities there offer such a remarkable degree with such interesting subjects I love to learn and moreover about a subject I am so passionate about. The fashion schools in UK will help me to flourish in my field and expand my knowledge towards it. It suits my interest and requirements perfectly. Needless to say, UK with its solid education and research facilities is the ideal place for students like me who wish to take the ‘road less traveled’.

 

I am confident that while I would gain so much from education in your esteemed University the University would also find in me a worthy student and future alumni who would take its reputation to many international shores for years to come.