Sandra Louise (more popularly known as Sandy) Higgins, heiress to Slim’s Fashion and Arts School founded by Salvacion Lim Higgins, passed away after two years of silently battling a disease.
Her brother, Mark said, “she (Sandy) didn’t want her illness announced or talked about while she was struggling to overcome it.”
Mark and Sandy, took over Slim’s after their mother’s passing, working as co-directors. Mark handles the mentorship, while Sandy managed the operations of the fashion school which has churned out notable alumni such as Michael Cinco, Oskar Peralta, Albert Andrada, Ezra Santos, Cesar Gaupo, and Joey Samson, among many others.
In managing Slim’s, Sandy ensured she maintained the steady and firm foundation that her mother, known for her ingenuity, had established—going “against the grain of what’s happening in today’s fast fashion scene,” she said in an interview with Manila Standard for the Visionary Awards 2015 which included Sandy and Mark among its roster of winners.
“The challenge is to persistently explore ways to accomplish Slim’s extensive lessons and standards faster and more efficiently to keep up with today’s pace,” said Sandy.
One of Sandy’s contributions to the industry was the Salvacion Lim Higgins Education Fund, which she launched in 2017 together with Mark. The scholarship program supports struggling but promising fashion students pursuing their studies at Slim’s.
The educational fund champions the importance of learning, as their mother, Slim, had believed that with the right training—not shortcuts nor superficial skills—students leave the school empowered and ready to make a living.
