Retro Styles, Reshaped Classics

Old leather bags, checked suits, men’s barbershops, and other such cultured accessories and spaces have an elegance that recalls a bygone era. They exude style and taste, and a warmth that “cold” modern technology just can’t replace.

In this month’s cover story we explore the stories behind retro fashion, examining the work of artists and tradespeople who are using their vast experience to reshape modern ideas, forge emotional connections between people and things, and make the “old fashioned” even hipper the second time around.

Education comes in many shapes and sizes. Chen Junlang’s Kids’ Bookhouse supports children growing up in remote parts of Taitung, helping kids from single-­parent families and from backgrounds of poverty or domestic violence to develop self-­confidence and a sense of identity. The group’s focus on self-reliance is also helping indigenous communities recover their social cohesion and passion.

Ahronglong Sakinu’s Hunter School doesn’t offer a set slate of courses. Instead, it strives to pass on Taiwanese Aborigines’ view of the “oneness” of Nature, and their respect for living things, through practical educational experiences. School staff also attend the annual Cordillera Day gathering on the Philippine island of Luzon, to mingle with other Austronesians from Southeast Asia.

Ran Lee, known as the “Father of Taiwanese muay Thai,” has been teaching martial arts for over 17 years. His students have included individuals from more than 20 nations, including Japan, France, Spain, and Dubai, and have competed in muay Thai and mixed martial arts competitions in Taiwan and abroad. The Ran Lee Muay­thai Gym’s principle of “when learning to fight, first learn to be moral,” and its practical approach to training, have created a market for muay Thai in Taiwan.

Elevator cables from Taipei 101 have not only carried countless visitors up and down that building, but have also given the prison inmates who helped clean them a sense of rebirth. Sculptor Kang Mu­xiang has shaped the cables into works that embody the soft and hard of Taiwan’s spirit, and his piece Twin Life is slated to become a part of the permanent collection at the Twin Oaks Estate in Washington, DC.

In this issue, we also report on the ­Thailand 4.0 economic development plan and the opportunities it offers Taiwanese businesses, and write about the efforts of Taiwanese medical teams to improve public health around the world, including initiatives to reduce maternal and child mortality in Eswatini and to control kidney disease in Belize.