"She likes seeing me continue with the skills she practised when she was younger," says Tang, whose preferred pronoun is she/her. She grew closer to her maternal grandmother about five years ago, after she picked up sewing from the former seamstress.
Madam Martha Lau, a small but spritely Teochew Peranakan woman, has cared for Tang and her four siblings under one roof since they were born. They still live together.
The only one out of her siblings who did not go to school, Madam Lau declares proudly in Teochew: "In the past, we didn't formally learn our craft - we were all self-taught."
She name-drops that she used to tailor clothes for the late Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and his late lawyer-wife Kwa Geok Choo at an Emerald Hill shop where she worked in the 1980s.
Tang's claim to fame is starring in Singaporean director Lei Yuan Bin's documentary feature Baby Queen (2022), and she is a regular performer at various clubs and bars.
She believes that she has inherited her grandmother's self-starter spirit in executing her own costume designs, often inspired by local iconography such as the mosaic dragon playground and the Vanda Miss Joaquim.
Even her grandmother says Tang is more "ngiao" (Teochew for calculative) about perfection in her tailoring.
This story is from the October 20, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 20, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Yang Ming Seafood owner reels in success after failures
Mr Keith Kang would wake up in the middle of the night to worry about his doomed businesses, but he bounced back and now runs multiple eateries
What does chocolate grown in Singapore taste like?
Chocolatier Janice Wong has planted more than 500 cacao trees here
Sinister spycraft, weird horror in Absolution
In a remote ruin called Dead Town, in a place called the Forgotten Coast, in an unnamed backwater of the US, a group of biologists set up camp to study the landscape.
A lengthy post-apocalyptic tale that requires patience of its readers
Juice is the book recommendation to dispel the notion that women speak too much.
Chills rooted in female-centric experiences
Argentinian writer Mariana Enriquez doles out skin-crawling unease in her tales about the shadows that haunt humanity
Grandma, you were there for us, now we're here for you
Unlike many of my peers from the 20-something generation, I was raised by a gaggle of mothers and grandmothers. Raised by my paternal grandmother from the day after I was born, I was swaddled in her tangy Hokkien speech. Every night, until I was a teenager, my younger brother and I would lay mattresses on both sides of her bed and go to sleep.
Drag artist takes after seamstress grandmother
For Singaporean drag artist Opera Tang, 29, a seven-decades-old Singer sewing machine handed down from her 93-year-old grandmother stitched a precious bond between them.
Stepping up at 16 to care for sick mum
Young caregivers face multiple challenges that differ from older caregivers', and their numbers are set to rise
YAPP IS ASIA'S ACE IN PACK
S'porean leads team to win over European opponents at event where he's also MVP
Postecoglou hails Spurs' outstanding second half
LONDON - Manager Ange Postecoglou praised Tottenham Hotspur's \"95-minute performance\" as they roared back from behind to beat West Ham United 4-1 on Oct 19, overrunning their London rivals in the second half to ease the pain of their recent collapse against Brighton & Hove Albion.
