*Grandma’s fashion*

Written by Principal Investigator Dr Tommy Tse

Photography by PJ

After spending weeks in Sanyuanli and Xiaobei, J came up with an idea of going North and visiting a few remote wholesale markets. Unsure about their relevance, I asked: What do they sell there? “Fabrics, accessories, and ‘wei huo’ (尾貨).” I had no idea about what it is, but thought: let’s go with the flow.

Early in the morning, a Didi driver is taking me to Guangda Wholesale Market. Listening to some high-pitched Mandarin singing on radio, thru the car window I aimlessly gaze at the skyscrapers & billboards, trucks & motorbikes, the dust haze in the air, and countless delivery drivers wearing bright yellow uniforms. The scenery recalls some nebulous childhood memories.

Here our local RA Bingchao naturally became our key gatekeeper. He was born & raised in a small town in Fujian, where many Chinese businessmen in these markets originally came from. Bingchao says that Houshan and Guangda are famous for selling clothes and fabrics of much lower prices than those in the centre. One wholesaler explains what ‘wei huo’ is: bulk amounts of leftover, factory mass-produced clothes, being sold at a steep discount to free the storage space in time. And they increasingly attract both African & middle East traders. On both sides of the market walkway, divergent classes of ‘wei huo’ are messily displayed, but they show some sort of order.

In Guangda, we also see an ample number of floral fabrics for sale. Many look very “Chinese” to me. The sight of purple ditsy floral prints reminds me of my grandma’s favourite outfit. “Who would wear these patterns?” I ask my research assistants and photographer.

“My mom, even my supervisor in Beijing.”

“Perhaps my grandma?”

“Even my moms and grandmas wouldn’t wear these!”

“How young is your mom?” “47.”

I keep thinking of my grandma. She spent her entire life in Panyu; first brought me to see the Five Goats Statue & some quirky festive shows; used to knit fitting sweaters for me simply by guesstimating my body proportion. But I can't quite recall how she looked anymore.