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A Grand-daughter Pays Tribute to
Her Grandma Through Her Clothes
Sustainable fashion brand founder Ms Trixie Chua puts new touches on the Samfu for young women.
By Ruth Loo
Dear Samfu's Founder Trixie Chua dressed in the Not Long Ago outfit, her rendition of the traditional Samfu. Photo: Dear Samfu
A timely visit to her grandmother’s house inspired Ms Trixie Chua to start her sustainable fashion brand Dear Samfu.
“One day while visiting Grandma, she showed me her very simple but stunning wardrobe made out of her favourite Samfus which [she] wore since I was little… till today. To me, this is sustainable fashion at its best,” says Ms Trixie Chua, 28.
According to Dear Samfu’s website, Samfu is Cantonese for the Chinese word Shan Ku (衫裤), a two-piece outfit made from the same cloth print, consisting of an airy shirt and a pair of loose, elastic trousers.
According to the National Library Board, the Samfu was a popular outfit among Chinese women in the 1960s as it was a modest outfit and was convenient for daily movement.
Ms Trixie Chua realised that she had been purchasing heaps of fast fashion pieces when she started working an office job. She then started researching more about the fast fashion industry. “I read up and found out that the fashion industry is one of the most polluting and wasteful industries in the world, because of the advent of fast fashion,” says Ms Trixie Chua.
According to Business Insider, the production of fashion constitutes 10 per cent of humans’ carbon emissions. In addition to that, 85 per cent of all textiles are dumped annually, water sources are emptied and rivers and streams are polluted.
Eager to launch her brand after being inspired by these events, Ms Trixie Chua started planning how to make her ideas come to life. However, challenges soon came her way.
“The first challenge was definitely finding a fabric supplier and manufacturer that shared the same values as me. I wanted to create with as little environment footprint as possible,” she says.
Ms Theresa Chua, Ms Trixie Chua’s twin sister, says, “Initially, we were so happy she found a supplier. However, after a couple of rounds of discussion, she felt that the supplier was not quite aligned on the ethos of sustainability and transparency. It was a potentially good deal. She grappled with it but trusted her intuition and found a more suitable supplier instead.”
Eventually, Ms Trixie Chua decided to work with deadstock fabric to make the Samfus she designed. According to Medium, deadstock fabrics are unsold leftover fabrics that a brand did not use. By using deadstock fabric, textile waste is reduced, energy is saved by “reducing the carbon footprint” that would have been a result of producing new materials.
“By using deadstock fabric, Dear Samfu avoids the production of new material, saving precious resources needed to manufacture new fabrics,” says Ms Trixie Chua.
Mr Adrian Huang, a fashion lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts, applauds Dear Samfu’s intention of being more sustainable and ethical.
He observes that Dear Samfu’s choice of fabric for the Samfus is “more minimalistic” as compared to what Chinese grandmothers might prefer, and also notes the styling details of the brand’s Samfu, such as the ruffles on the Nowadays Crop Top.
“The styling is quite cute. Like what [Chinese grandmothers] wear but styled with sneakers. I think there is a hint of nostalgia. The construction looks quite home-tailored which can add to that nostalgic-appeal, but I wouldn't use the term 'modernised' to describe the current offerings,” he says.
Dear Samfu’s website states that the cost of the Nowadays Crop Top is $89.00. While many may be stunned by the high price of the blouse, Dear Samfu has been very transparent about the breakdown of the cost. Workers in the Thailand factory that produces Dear Samfu clothing are paid living wages, which contributes to a bulk of the cost of the shirt. Also, while traditional retail has a 4 times mark-up, Dear Samfu only has a 2 times mark-up.
“During the circuit breaker Trixie could not do outdoor photoshoots so I became the accidental photographer and we had to make the best out of our furniture as props. It was more tiring than expected, she had to squat in corners, I had to declutter the living room. It was all chaotic but fun,” says Ms Theresa Chua.
Ms Trixie Chua’s friends also helped by being her fit models who tried on clothing pieces and gave constructive feedback for improvement. Ms Vera Soh, Ms Trixie Chua’s friend, suggested having ruffles as a nice detail to add to the clothing pieces, which is included in the Nowadays Crop Top.
“With the COVID-19 circuit breaker resulting in people spending more time online and accelerating digital shopping trends, it seemed like a good opportunity to launch an online presence,” says Ms Soh, who feels that the brand launch during the Circuit Breaker was timely.
I hope that through Dear Samfu, more young women will understand the importance of making wise fashion choices and consider sustainable alternatives when buying clothing
- Ms Trixie Chua
Ms Trixie Chua has learnt valuable lessons along her business journey. “I’ve learned to plan ahead of time and be self-disciplined. Running this business alongside having a full-time job means having to plan for the product, operations and marketing outside of regular work hours. This requires working backwards on timelines in a systematic manner to ensure I can launch my products on time!” she says.
Ms Trixie Chua has big dreams for Dear Samfu, including growing Dear Samfu’s Instagram community and expanding the brand internationally.
“I hope that through Dear Samfu, more young women will understand the importance of making wise fashion choices and consider sustainable alternatives when buying clothing,” she says.
13 July 2020
About the Author
Ruth Loo
Ruth is a friendly person who is a self-proclaimed extroverted-introvert. She loves reading a good old English classic while drinking a cup of artisanal tea and eating wholesome baked goods.
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