aeeble

Old House x Vintage. Music and Cats – “The most impractical little shop in Chiayi.” In February 2017, Huang Wu (荒屋) introduced itself on its Facebook page with these words. A couple who love music and second-hand clothes rented an abandoned timber store that had stood idle for years, filled the space with “vintage” items, and quietly displayed indie-band CDs in the corners. Two cats share the house: a black one twines around its owners’ ankles, begging for affection, while a yellow one lies regally on a ladder rung, yawning now and then—as if to say, “What has imperial power to do with me?” Kai-hung, who studied fashion design in college, makes his living from music; dealing in vintage clothes is only a hobby. He is obsessed with Taiwanese-made garments from the 1980s–90s, once scouring flea markets north, central, and south. Eventually he amassed too much and had to open a shop to let some go. Back then, he says, Taiwan was one of the world’s textile giants; international labels flocked here for manufacturing. Copyright notions were weak, so factories leaked look-alikes made of the same fabric, sometimes bearing logos with tweaked spellings to pass for the real thing. Those absurd trademarks are now “beautiful mistakes.” In Chiayi, vintage is already a niche; Huang Wu, devoted solely to Taiwanese-made old clothes, is a niche within a niche. Photo: Chiayi City Government Tourism & News Dept. | Photographer: Marg.