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Yesterday, my sister and I passed by Solo’s billboard and we were ecstatic to find that they were featuring Larry Alcala’s Slice of Life.

Here’s the sad part, though. When I asked the current third year students of APC-SoMA if they knew Larry Alcala, they gave me blank stares. He died in 2002. The thought of his memory fading from the minds of the youth in just 8 years is abominable.

Larry Alcala spent the last 50 years of his life cartooning. Among his accomplishments are 500 characters, 20 comic strips, 6 movies, 2 murals and 15,000 published material. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting at the University of the Philippines and became one of its faculty members. His love for education and the arts propelled his many advocacies and led to the establishment of UP-FA’s Visual Communication Department. He has many awards under his belt, one of which is the title of Dean of Filipino Cartoonists, given by the Philippine Board on Books for Young People in 1997.

But my family and I will always remember him for Slice of Life, which regularly appeared in Sunday Bulletin. Before Where’s Wally, it was Slice of Life that had us searching for Alcala’s face hidden in his various illustrations of Filipino culture. He may not be National Artist just yet, but his works were highly involving. Slice of Life is almost like the forefather of interactive visual art and it was a huge part of my childhood.

That Solo undertook this project is a great boon. It means that Alcala’s legacy need not be lost. The youth can enjoy his art now the way my siblings and I did in the 90s and my parents did a decade before that.

These limited edition outfits combine graphic design, fashion design and Alcala’s comics. I would be happy to add these to my collection, alongside my Freeway National Artist dresses. I’ve already looked at the items I want to own:

Click the product photos to view the enlarged images. On the left is the Anti-Smoking Movement Tee for women (P795) and on the right is the Ladies’ Button Down Shirt Dress (P1795), which is my most favorite piece in the entire offering. I could mix and match the above with these:

Ladies’ Printed Leggings (P795) because I have never owned printed leggings even though I am very fond of these comfortable things. On the right is the Ladies’ Vest (P1195). These would be perfect with the accessories Solo has to offer, still branded with Larry Alcala’s wacky drawings.

I definitely won’t be able to find these in Quiapo, so this is probably the only time I will ever buy accessories outside of my forbidden haven.

To commemorate Alcala’s timelessness, Solo has also come up with an Online Model Search. Well, it’s actually their second year. Last year, they discovered Jaggy Tallada and Jhonna Flor. This year, we’re all on the lookout for the faces of Solo 2011.

If you’re interested in joining the contest, the mechanics are simple: Just wear one of the pieces in Solo’s Larry Alcala collection, take a photo of yourself, edit it using the website’s various built-in graphic elements and upload it on the website. Promote your entry by having your friends vote and comment.

For more details, visit the following sites:
Solo Website | Modelsearch Site | Solo Facebook Fan Page | Solo Twitter

The contest runs until November 15, 2010, so if you’re a budding model and you believe you have a lot of potential, this might be your chance of getting discovered.