A Gift To Hubert De Givenchy’s First Filipina Muse by HANNAH VALIENTE - When 24-year-old Tetta Agustin flew from Manila to Rome in 1973, the young model had no idea she would land herself in one of the most illustrious fashion houses in Europe—and indeed, in the annals of Philippine fashion history as the first Filipina to model for Givenchy and Yves St. Laurent in Paris. With the world at her feet and her dreams right before her, Tetta is set to take the world by storm. Woman of Style - Standing five foot seven inches and boasting an enviable 21-inch waist, Tetta Agustin was first deemed too petite for Rome’s fashion scene. First starting with modeling gigs in Manila, she caught the eye of Italian designer Renato Balestra who urged the then-24-year-old to branch out to Rome. However, Rome disappointed her, as its statuesque models were far from Tetta’s slim petite figure. “I did not work in Rome because when I went to see Emilio Pucci, he told me I was too petite for Rome fashion,” she told Philstar in 2012. “He told me to go to France because he was quite certain I would have more chance to work in Paris.” And success in Paris she had. Almost immediately after landing, she found herself at the Catherine Harley Modeling Agency where she found herself hired on the spot by M. Hubert de Givenchy himself for his upcoming show. Givenchy was looking for an Asian model and despite already having one, a Vietnamese, one look at Tetta was enough for him to bump the prior model to sign her up on the spot. "I put on [Givenchy's] dress," she recalls in another 2018 Philippine Daily Inquirer interview. "Then finally, he walked into the room, looked at me, and nodded me on, to say 'thank you.'" Thus begins her illustrious career in Paris. From 1973 to 1979, Tetta walked for Givenchy, rubbing elbows with elites like Audrey Hepburn, socialite Bunny Mellon, and former American First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Givenchy himself had a huge impact on Tetta’s life. Affectionately called “Papa” by the model, Tetta endeared herself to the "gentle giant" as he was called (Givenchy himself stands at six foot six inches). He took the young ingénue under his wing, introducing her to the international fashion world at large. “He would always ask me over to his atelier perhaps because I made the seamstresses laugh,” Tetta said. “He treated me like his little girl.” From One Trailblazer to Another - Tetta’s singleminded pursuit of her dreams bore great success. Armed with feistiness, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. “The rejection stung, but it was more because I couldn’t book a job than me being too petite,” she recalls. “I came to Europe to model, and I refused to work if it wasn’t going to be a job that I liked.” However, with Givenchy as a sponsor, Tetta soon found herself intermingling with illustrious guests in banquets and yacht parties and even private shows, where she developed friends with prominent women such as horticulturist and art patron Bunny Mellon, socialite and philanthropist Barbara Hutton, Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, and then First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. It wasn’t only these high society women that Tetta endeared herself to. Upon her signing with Givenchy, Tetta sought out the model she replaced, a Vietnamese named Doti, and forged a lifelong friendship with her, even serving as godmother to Doti’s child. Kindness and spunk propelled Tetta’s career. Her vivacious attitude endeared her to the staff of Givenchy, its clients, and the man himself, who is involved in Tetta’s personal life as her daughter Tosca’s godfather. “Perhaps that’s why we were always fighting, as if in a love- hate relationship. He would always ask me if I was getting married, and when. And my personality is, I’d get queasy about being asked,” Tetta (or as Givenchy loved to call her, “Tetta the hardheaded”) recalled their unique dynamic. But still, she holds Givenchy in a place of respect. In half a jest, she said, “I like to say that the was the only gentleman left in Europe.” Even after leaving the modeling world to focus more on her many businesses, Tetta still carried her unique blend of feistiness and gratefulness moving forward. She had surrounded herself with like-minded mentors, friends, and colleagues, propelling her career to higher heights. It is then unsurprising that she also found herself in acquaintance with the Philippines’s first Filipina abstractionist Nena Saguil, close enough for the artist to gift her this abstraction piece. Like Tetta herself, Nena forged her own path back when few artists delved into pure abstraction, and even fewer of them women. This untitled 1972 work, gifted to Tetta by Nena herself, echoes the freshness of Tetta’s career. Utilizing a series of circles that overtake the canvas, one can discern the sun, the mountain, and the sea as he depicts a novel vision of the horizon. The work was created during what critic Emmanuel Torres categorized as the artist’s lyrical abstraction period, with the piece done in shades of blues, pinks, and violets. This gift bestowed on the model portrayed not just Saguil’s impeccable handle on pure abstraction but also the paths both women took as the first Filipinas to excel in their respective fields. Both Nena Saguil’s artistry and Tetta Agustin’s career boast of their eminent characteristics, the two of them acting as trailblazers in their own right.