JAN. 28, 1920—Philippine fashion almost lost a prolific
daughter when fashion designer Salvacion Lim Higgins nearly died at birth. She
was, in fact, pronounced dead minutes afterward.
But thanks to a Chinese relative, Salvacion was saved and was to live 70
more fruitful years, most of which were dedicated to the superb craftsmanship
and sophistication of the Philippine vogue.
“Slim,” as Salvacion would later be known, was the founder in 1960 of Slim’s
Fashion & Arts School, the first and oldest fashion school in the country.
A UST fine arts alumna, Slim established the school along with older sister
Purificacion, who would later play a key role in her journey. Now on its 50th
anniversary, the school has been a powerhouse for some of today’s premier
designers such as Oskar Peralta, Cesar Gaupo, Bobby Novenario, and Eddie
Ocampo, to name a few.
Slim’s memoirs and gala of creations are showcased in a biography titled
SLIM: Salvacion Lim Higgins, Philippine Haute Couture 1947-1990 (Slim’s Legacy
Project, Inc., 2009) authored by her children, Mark Lewis and Sandra Louis
Higgins with Lisa Guerrero Nakpil and photographer Neal Oshima.
Mentor and student
Peralta, the first Filipino designer to be published in Vogue Magazine in
Paris, boasted of being one of the few students Slim mentored personally.
“There were lessons about proportions, sketching, and the color palette,”
Peralta recalled. “But the best learning comes from experience. Having been
taught personally by her, and being in the same fashion show with her would
rank first in my [fondest memories of her].”
As a student still making a name for himself, Peralta recalled an instance
when Slim urged him to change his name from “Oscar” to “Oskar” apparently for
more sophistication.
“She was a mother to us, you can see in her workmanship her principles in
life,” said Peralta, adding that their beloved teacher taught them more than
just the right fabrics to use or the perfect colors to match.
“For her, every gown had its own story,” he said.
But like Peralta, Slim was once a student herself. A native of Legazpi City,
she traveled in 1940 to Manila to study in the then UST Department of
Architecture and Fine Arts, under the tutelage of National Artist Carlos
“Botong” Francisco (who was said to have been “one of the first to notice
Salvacion’s eye for color and declared it often enough to the rest of the
class).”
“Nature and nurture” went hand-in-hand with the talented Slim, whose formal
schooling only enhanced her keen eye for aesthetics.
Birth of ‘Slim’
Slim was enjoying learning art within the University, but this had to take
the backseat when World War II broke out. Life grew harder when her father,
businessman Don Luis Samson Lim Katiam had to leave his family for his own
safety. Margarita Navera Diaz, the Lim matriarch, took over the household with
seven children who would soon learn “gritty persistence at the knee of their
mother.”
Slim was determined to continue her studies, following her brother Jose’s
wedding in Manila. While waiting for the new school term to start, she sent
sketches of her designs to the Manila Times, then the country’s most
influential broadsheet. It was also then that she began to name herself “Slim.”
Thus, began the talented Salvacion’s journey of a thousand designs, with her
exquisite creations as her golden ticket to the fashion industry.
With her designs getting fair attention, she put up an atelier with
Purificacion and family friend Consuelo Barberan at a flat on the district of
Malate in 1947, which soon moved to its last location in Taft Avenue. The shop
enticed well-heeled clienteles and other members of the Filipino elite, due to
Slim’s “fresh and trend-setting designs.” Among her patrons were Miss
International Gemma Cruz-Araneta and Armi Kuusela, the world’s first Miss
Universe.
Next level
After a string of successful local fashion shows, the premier couturier
embarked with her friends on a trip to Paris in the 1950s, where they saw some
of the biggest names in international fashion, including Christian Dior and
Cristobal Balenciaga, among others.
Slim set off to New York and enrolled at the Traphagen School of Design, one
of the first American institutions to offer advanced cutting and
pattern-making. She returned to Manila in 1952 and was then asked to create
Filipino costumes for actress Micheline Presle for the movie “An American
Guerilla in the Philippines,” starring Tyrone Power.
Since then, Slim became one of the first Asian couturiers to appear in the
American press. This kind of attention intensified when Slim created much of
then First Lady Leonila Garcia’s wardrobe during her and President Carlos
Garcia’s visit to the White House in 1958, as well as a nationalistic gown
presented to former US First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. The gown is now part of a permanent
collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Already successful with her fast-paced career, Slim married businessman
Hubert Lewis Higgins and consequently opened her fashion and arts school on
Taft Avenue. Together with Purificacion, Slim worked on the school’s curriculum
and other academic materials while she was pregnant with Mark Lewis.
Curtain call
Slim continued to revolutionize Philippine fashion until she reached the
pinnacle of her career. But in 1984, she was dealt with a shocking revelation—she
was diagnosed with cancer.
However, the persistent and highly professional Slim did not let her
sickness get in the way and instead went about her routines as a designer.
In 1987, Slim received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Filipino
Designer’s Group for her contributions to the fashion industry. The following
year, she moved to San Francisco and received treatment at the Stanford
University Hospital.
In 1990, Philippine fashion lost her for good.
Philippine couture has never been the same since the passing of Slim, who
revolutionized the era of ternos and stunning Filipinianas. But her true legacy
lies not only in her creations, but in the succeeding generation of designers
trained in her fashion school.
“I have found that it’s best to focus on one idea and build on that,” Slim
once said. “Young designers sometimes tend to have a rush of clever ideas that
they then cram into a single work, when these could have been divided into two,
or even three, gowns.”
Slim was posthumously accorded the Hall of Fame Award at the 1990 Manila
Fashion Designers Awards, which also showcased her last collections. In 1997,
the quintessential designer was bestowed the Achievement Award at the Filipino
Fashion Achievement Awards.
Last November, Slim’s body of works were exhibited at the National Museum of
the Philippines. The exhibit runs until March this year. Included in the
exhibit are yardsticks defined by the most explicit combinations of line, color
and form, as well as gowns of elegant shapes and different fits. Her
combinations of shades had a way of emphasizing the innate beauty of morenas,
mestizas, and the occasional redhead complexions.
“She was the epitome of beauty in its simplest ways,” Peralta said. “Her
gowns, even without the beadwork, would look astonishing and never plain.” M.R.B.
Maranan
