Slim’s legacy exhibition at SM Aura Premier

Fashion and design enthusiasts recently had a glimpse of the amazing life and work of Salvacion Lim Higgins: National Artist for Design at SM Aura Premier, the first showcase in a mall celebrating the fashion designer’s visionary work from a career spanning over four decades. 



Curated by son and artist Mark Lewis Higgins, the exhibition featured a breathtaking selection of gowns and archival photographs highlighting the preeminent designer’s creative genius and legacy.

In June 2022, Salvacion Lim “Slim” Higgins was honored as a National Artist in the Design category. The Order of National Artists Award is the highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts and letters.

She is the only Filipino designer with gowns in the archives of both the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

The exhibition opening was graced by no less than Presidential sister and art advocate Irene Marcos-Araneta, who was joined by friends of the designer’s family, members of the fashion and arts communities, and Slim’s Fashion and Arts School faculty and alumni. Guests were seen admiring the collection of gowns and dresses which showcased Slim’s enduring signature style: groundbreaking yet timeless design, intriguing silhouettes, and exquisite technique. 


These included a reproduction of a white fringed terno created for First Lady Leonila Garcia in the late 1950s featuring the original lace trim; a reproduction of a Siamese-inspired coat and gown created in 1956; a newly restored gown from 1967 which was modeled by Maja Salvador for the cover of MEGA magazine in August 2022; a reproduction of a pale magenta terno with a cascade of sunburst pleats created in the early 1970s; and a reproduction of a spectacular red gown pleated to perfection created in 1978.

The exhibition also featured a selection of breathtaking photographs featuring gowns and ternos worn by the fashion icons of their time: Edith Nakpil Rabat, Chona Recto Kasten, Lily de las Alas Padilla, and Diana Jean Lopez.


Born in Legaspi, Albay in 1920, Slim studied Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas under National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco, but never finished her studies due to the outbreak of WWII. In 1947 she opened the Slim’s atelier, and in 1960 founded Slim’s Fashion & Arts School with her sister Purificacion Lim, which is today headed by Mark Higgins as director.

As the oldest fashion institution in the country, it has mentored tens of thousands of designers all over the Philippines. Alumni include fashion luminaries Oskar Peralta, Joe Salazar, Cesar Gaupo, Oliver Tolentino, Albert Andrada, Joey Samson, Martin Bautista, and Michael Cinco.


Salvacion Lim Higgins: National Artist for Design is one of the exciting fashion events at SM Aura Premier.


manilastandard.net

Link | View in PDF format

Popular posts from this blog

Why You Should Visit Salvacion Lim Higgins’ Exhibit at the Manila Metropolitan Theater

Image
Salvacion Lim Higgins, the National Artist for Design, is the ultimate inspiration when it comes to Filipiniana dressing It’s impossible to talk about the Filipiniana without mentioning Salvacion Lim Higgins. Also known as “Slim” Higgins, the founder of Slim’s Fashion and Arts School was recently named Philippine National Artist for Design, and it was honestly long overdue. The designer, who passed away in September 1990, may have started her career in the 1940s, but her work still remains relevant today. A true modernist, Slim foresaw the Terno beyond its structural confines and constantly reinvented its silhouette. The techniques and fabrics she  used to create her work were intricate and delicate enough to level with the works of her design contemporaries in France and Italy. You can say that Mrs. Salvacion was a true couturier, and could even be considered the first Filipino couturier. Today, her legacy lives on in her book titled SLIM: Salvacion Lim Higgins, through the eyes a...
Read more

Vogue PH - Celebration

Image
While interest and viability of living inside the metaverse is still an ongoing discussion, its potential as a limitless platform is undeniable. Digital fashion, for example, is being explored by maisons around the world. Vogue Philippines is similarly intrigued, and has teamed up with visionaries like DressX and Lablaco to bring the terno to this virtual realm. This collaboration is executed as a special cover this month, just in time for the biennial TernoCon. Get this special cover of Vogue Philippines December ‘22 - January ‘23 issue with every purchase of the February 2023 issue available for pre-order now. Link in bio. Featuring Filipina model @oiitstaki wearing a @rickytchitov balintawak, photographed by @shairaluna, fashion director @pamquinones, sittings editor @ticiaalmazan, avatar designer @ivvnvvi, landscape designer @biancarague, digital fashion by Tanya Pyanida of @dressx and Akanksha Srivastva of @lablaco, art direction by @jannpascua, produced by @anzhizon assisted by @...
Read more

The legacy of slim’s

Image
Embroidered jusi terno created for first daughter Linda Garcia Campos in 1957   Mallgoers will have the rare opportunity to view the visionary work of National Artist Salvacion Lim “Slim” Higgins at the Upper Ground Level Atrium of SM Aura Premier from Sept. 5 to 14. The exhibition, “Salvacion Lim Higgins: National Artist for Design,” celebrates the preeminent designer’s creative genius that has revolutionized — and continues to influence — Philippine fashion. “Observing her at work while I was growing up is what made me realize that fashion is actually both an art and a craft,” says her son, artist Mark Lewis Higgins, who curates the show. “The art lies in the vision and the craft is in the application. The art is in the dream; the craft is in making it real.  She would create these masterful confections of her imagination that would either defy gravity or succumb to it.” In June 2022, Slim was honored as a National Artist in the Design category. The Order of National Artists...
Read more