Chapter 2_An Indian western goods store located behind a dubious building in the Samphaeng market.
The market is arcade-like, making it comfortable to walk around even in the summer when the sun is shining brightly.
The Sampean market is full of fabric wholesalers and is an ideal place for those who want to make clothes.
Many stores sold shorts made from fabrics sold at wholesale stores. The price is 50-70 baht per pair (about 250-350 yen).
Next, we went to Samphaeng Market in the Chinatown Yawarat neighborhood in the center of Bangkok. We arrived at an Indian western goods store located behind a mysterious building. When our staff researched this place in advance, we were too scared to go through, but I remember Mr. Matsukawa took the initiative to go in there.
It is hard to tell because of the photo, but the escalators were not working and had turned into stairs.
On the second floor of the building, there are many stores selling ethnic costumes. It smelled strangely spicy.
Matsukawa: I went in because I was scared (laughs). There are stores in Japan that sell Indian goods, but not on this scale, which is surprising. It was in a building that was not very clean, and I think we were the only customers that day.
In addition to Indian ethnic costumes, they also sold cloth and accessories.
Mr. Matsukawa negotiates with his mother, the owner of the restaurant, on the price. Negotiations are successfully concluded.
What did you think of the restaurant's lineup?
Matsukawa: At first, I thought it would be a little strange to come to Thailand and buy something from India (......), but I stopped by because the lineup was so diverse and I wanted to dig around. I bought a pair of pants here, and the fabric is so delicate that it could easily be torn, which is something you cannot buy in Japan. You might be able to find a large number of these in India, but it was a lucky chance that I came across them here.
Each doughty costs 600 baht (about 3,000 yen).
These pants are called "dhoti," which is worn by Hindu men in India, and look like a pair of pants made by crossing a single piece of cloth. What was your intention in purchasing these?
Matsukawa: I bought them because I thought they could be used in some kind of costume. I thought that if there was a photo shoot of a basic T-shirt and the pants glimpsed were not ordinary pants, but pants with this kind of texture, they would look different.
I see. So, when you buy clothes in stores for reasons other than personal items, do you imagine that you could use them for some kind of costume?
Matsukawa: No, it is not so much a calculation, but a feeling. Then there is the amount of money. If this were 40,000 yen, I wouldn't buy it, but if it were 4,000 yen and I could keep this as an outfit option, I would. This is not what people call vintage or good regular, and I felt a connection with the clothes, even though they can't be summed up by anything.
I went to this place and found it to be a very nice place, but the building itself was suspicious and I was next to worried that I might be taken somewhere. ......
Matsukawa: 古着屋で働いているときにアメリカ買い付けに参加してたんですが、そのときのオーナーに常に気を付けろというのは言われてました。なのでタイも程度は違えど、そういった可能性も頭の片隅にありつつのマーケット巡り。独特の緊張感は個人的には好きですね。ビジュアル撮影でも何かギリギリを攻める場面がいちばん興奮します。
