But in fact the center has much to offer, especially to those with a general interest in the world of fashion and design, or the sartorial history of Taiwan.
The center, however, is not only a museum, dedicated to preserving the legacy of the past; it is also trying to reinvigorate the Wanhua garment industry.
“We hope to weave the past, present, and future of Dali together,” said Lin Hsuan-chen, director of the center, using the name the Wanhua garment industry has traditionally been known by to describe her mission.
Established in 2006, the center, a non-profit public institution, was entrusted to Hsiao Mei-ling, now 65, head of the Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising at Shih Chien University, a school known for advancing textile design and techniques in Taiwan.
The origin of the Dali garment business dates back more than 50 years, to the 1950s when Taiwan was still very poor and only beginning to modernize. Having no money to purchase whole cloth, several housewives in the Wanhua neighborhood came up with the idea of making clothes out of unwanted strips of cloth discarded by factories.
Their products sold well. Soon enough business was booming, helped greatly by the opening of the Wanhua Train Station. By the 1960s, Dali was already known as one of Taiwan’s major clothing wholesale districts.
In the 70s, local design brands started to emerge out of Dali. The housewives-turned-designers enjoyed a profitable business. Not only did they sell their clothes throughout Taiwan, they also exported them overseas, part of a larger trend whereby Taiwan became an export-oriented economy.
Fresh talent poured into Dali, as graduates from SCU began to work there. They helped transform Dali into a place with numerous fashionable boutiques where one could go shopping for tailor-made suits and outfits at a reasonable price. It is estimated that at its peak between 2,000 and 3,000 clothing stores operated in Dali.
The center’s exhibitions are a reminder of Dali’s glorious past.
Visitors to the TCCC can get a feel of this glorious past by looking at the rows upon rows of antique sewing machines displayed in the exhibition room. Almost every imaginable type of sewing machine can be found here, from dark, wooden domestic machines, to bright, big industrial models encased in plastic shells.
Many of these machines were donated by Hsiao and her friends; others were given by former store owners, happy to see the relics of their past lives lovingly preserved. These machines bear silent but eloquent testimony to the rise and fall of the local garment industry.
Traditional Chinese dresses are also displayed at the center. Though few in number, the dresses, which were a Dali specialty, show how soft and refined tailor-made clothing could be.
“We have not been able to obtain samples directly from local shops, but these dresses, donated by Hsiao from her own cherished family collection, are wonderful examples of haute couture,” Lin said, as she explained the dresses’ different sewing techniques and choice of cloth.
But the golden days of Dali are now gone. It has lost its glamor, with only a few elderly clients dropping by once in a while. “Only one-tenth of the number of previous businesses remains today,” Lin said. The drastic decline resulted from outsourcing to mainland China, where costs are much lower, and the rise of Wufenpu, a rival wholesale garment entrepot, popular with youngsters, in another section of Taipei.
“Many of the housewives and female professionals who used to work here remain. Most of them, including many of my classmates at SCU, have retired, and now work as domestic helpers,” Lin said with a sigh.
In light of this development, Lin says the center is working hard to rekindle interest in Dali by holding classes and staging various activities on a regular basis.
One such class is held by Shih Su-yun, a revered 84-year-old master seamstress. During the class Shih tries to pass on her patented “single-cut” technique that enables a tailor to cut a full shirt out of a single piece of cloth.
What had once been a drab black and white uniform has been magically transformed into an elegant evening gown.
Another event sponsored by the center is its annual “fashion contest,” in which young designers try to compete for a chance to shine in the spotlight. One past winner managed to turn the collar of her high school uniform into the sleeve of a night gown.
“The younger generation is creative enough to catch buyers’ eyes, and the Dali business owners are equipped with quality materials,” Lin said.
Under Lin’s coordination, some of the remaining local businesses, who can be conservative about trying new things, have adopted the design presented during the contest to produce garments. “I look forward to seeing where this collaboration will lead the Dali garment culture to,” said Lin.
Lin continued with her plans of bringing even more public attention to Dali. In the coming April, the TCCC will participate in the annual Longshan Temple festival, a major community and tourist event. With performances on the history of Wanhua and religious tales to be staged, winners of the garment contest will help design costumes which integrate traditional dramatic elements and the latest fashion trends.
In addition, the center also regularly exhibits new materials. The latest exhibition, running until March 31, showcases national costumes from six Asia-Pacific countries: Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Fiji, Vietnam and Thailand.
“The works on display are the revised versions of traditional clothes,” said Lin, adding that it is her hope to see this—and more exhibitions to come—reawaken the local garment industry. “My plan is to hold a nationwide ‘new Taiwan national costume’ design contest after this exhibition is over, to see if it has been as inspiring as I hope it would be,” Lin said.
The Costume and Culture Center is still young, and needs the support of the community at large. Only the first stitches of Dali’s future have been sewn; more stitches will be required before all the embroidery work is completed.
But it has already made great strides, Lin said, noting that some moms have already found new life at the center, a point reinforced by the rhythmic sounds of the sewing machines in the background, and the chattering of several elderly seamstresses. (HZW)
Write to Tien-ying Hsu at: tyhsu@mail.gio.gov.tw