Your S’pore Story: ‘She’s taken me under her wing and taught me the finer art of tailoring’

Like many mentor-mentee relationships – think philosophers Socrates and Plato, and couturiers Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior – the bond between the two is more than strong. It is like a living thread, running between generations, tying past to present.

With just one look, Singaporean drag artist Opera Tang, who uses she/her pronouns, knows exactly what her 94-year-old grandmother means – and can finish her sentence without a word being said.

Watch their video here.

Similarly, the spritely Madam Martha Lau understands the 30-year-old’s costume creative ideas with ease, even with a language barrier between them.

Since 2020, Ah Ma – as Ms Tang calls her – has taken her grandchild under her wing and started imparting the finer art of tailoring.

Like many young Singaporeans, Ms Tang only speaks a smattering of Teochew, which Ah Ma converses in.

But as Ms Tang’s costume-making skills improve, so has her command of the dialect – and that has brought the two closer together.

Looking at their interaction, one cannot help but realise that Ah Ma is Ms Tang’s biggest cheerleader.

Besides working on the costumes with Ms Tang, the nonagenarian has also been to her drag performances.

“When I went to watch her, she performed in the costume we made together. And there was so much applause from the audience,” says Madam Lau with immense pride.

“I love her performance – and her. But it doesn’t matter if I like or approve of her taking part in such performances; it’s after all her interest, her passion.”

With Ah Ma ageing, Ms Tang values their time spent together and wants to enjoy every minute, whether working on the sewing machine or going for a vacation together.

Here, Ms Tang reveals more about their relationship, which is sewn tightly together one stitch at a time.

“When I was young, there were always two sewing machines in our house – the mechanical, traditional kind. I grew up listening to the machines and the sound of my Ah Ma’s feet on the pedals. All of Mum’s office clothes were made by Ah Ma. Looking back at family photos, so were the clothes my uncles wore.

My sister and I played with Barbie dolls, and Ah Ma made miniature clothes for them too. I don’t remember asking – she just did it spontaneously. She probably made so many that she doesn’t remember, but my most vivid memory is a white satin wedding dress she made for one of my Barbies. That’s when I knew she was a great seamstress.

Ah Ma learnt to sew at 16, making her own clothes, but only started formal work at 19 at a tailor shop in the Orchard area. There, she learnt to make everything – from shirts and dresses to chefs’ whites and even their top hats. With money saved from working, she managed to buy a sewing machine for $190. That was a lot of money back then.

In 2020, when I started doing drag, I knew there could be pressure from society or even family not to do it. But Ah Ma? Totally different story. She’s always been open. Since then, she’s taken me under her wing and started teaching me the finer art of tailoring.

Like many young Singaporeans, I only speak a smattering of Teochew, which Ah Ma converses in. At the start, I didn’t know many sewing terms in Teochew and I’d get frustrated because I couldn’t translate what I wanted to say. So I’d draw it out, point to the seam or the area I needed help with. She’d show me, and I’d learn from there. Slowly, I picked up Teochew vocabulary too. As my costume-making skills improved, so has my command of the dialect – and that has brought us closer together.

Working with her is fairly smooth-sailing, even though we can both be very stubborn – we just want to do our best. She always reminds me that sewing is not easy, there are no shortcuts, everything has to be done step by step.

I’ve learnt all my costume-making skills from Ah Ma. Sometimes my patterns can be really elaborate, but she just takes my measurements and sketches them straight onto newspapers. I wouldn’t be able to do it without her. One thing I still want to learn is pattern-making – the templates behind every outfit – from her.

Right now, after she’s been teaching me for four years, I’ve become quite good at what I do. Ah Ma jokes that she has ‘lost’ to me, that I’m much better than her now, that her ‘brain has been transferred’ to me. But I know that’s not true – everything I create still carries her wisdom and techniques.

If I asked her how to do something, she’d jump right in. No hesitation. No prejudice. Her only goal is to help me as her grandchild. I’m very privileged. A lot of my peers who do drag don’t have that kind of family support. But I do. I don’t even have to try that hard – I already have someone at home who can support and guide me. And I love that.”

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