Dolores Arguelles-Panlilio gladly posed beside the SLIM gown she wore at the Mancomunidad Pampaguena Ball in 1952. (Photo by MELO E. ESGUERRA)

Fashionistas across generations (with every age group from the their 20s to their 70s represented) and pillars of the Philippine fashion industry all gathered at The Museum of the Filipino People, the National Museum, to witness the inauguration of the country’s most comprehensive fashion retrospective to date, SLIM: Salvacion Lim-Higgins, Philippine Haute Couture 1947-1990.

The host and the hostess of the evening, the surviving children of the late couturier, Mark and Sandy Higgins, also launched the collectors’ edition, coffeetable book that honors the great contribution of their mother to Philippine fashion. The book was written by Lizza Nakpil with the editorial direction of Thelma San Juan and photos by Neil Oshima.

The National Museum, our country’s repository and guardian of cultural heritage, was a fitting venue for the event, as the exhibition truly ignited the sense of pride and nationalism among those who viewed the exhibit.

The unforgettable evening was presented by Preview and Town & Country, together with Citibank and Nokia. And Mark Higgins summed it all up in one phrase when Manila Bulletin asked for his thoughts on the evening: “It’s a magical night!”