By MONICA BEDI
From Vogue Editor-In-Chief to a magazine feature to the fall 2011 runway, New York-based Malaysian fashion designer Zang Toi has influenced the fashion world through his many accomplishments and upon recent news, is the first to be deemed a Top Eight Influential Chinese-American by VIVID magazine.
According to Anna Wintour, Editor-In-Chief of Vogue, the designer brought a new sense of color and design into his work. VIVID magazines notes that his vision was very different from mainstream American trend in the nineties, and that was what set him apart from the rest of the world. After making a laudable first collection, Wintour made him the first Malaysian to be featured in a story in the magazine.
But for all other fashion-related beginnings, the designer’s accomplishments travel miles farther than a runway at New York Fashion Week. The designer studied at the Parsons School of Design and has received a plethora of awards due to his education in fashion. Some awards include the Mouton-Cadet Young Designer Award, Monsieur Style-Awards-Best Womenswear Designer, Fashion Grou Star Gazer Award for Designer Apparel, European School of Economics, Vision and Reality Award of Excellence in Fashion, and most recent: Transfiguration Education Association, in honor of his outstanding achievements in fashion and charitable contributions.
Since his beginnings, he has captured the attention of the world’s fashion elite with his atelier and Fall 2011 Ready-to-Wear collection.
Tamara Albu, Associate Professor of Fashion at Parsons School of Design was one of Zang Toi’s mentors and his Fall 2011 Ready-to-Wear collection is her favorite: “The design elements of those garments are impeccable. His collection defines art.”
With a nod toward some of fall’s most noteworthy trends, a camel, black, and emerald color palette dominated his presentation with attention-grabbing fur and Swarvoski crystals to boost his fashion quotient. The garments represented the designer’s craftsmanship as classic shapes with unique and edgy twists were omnipresent. Each garment was texturally intriguing, leaving the entire world admiring the art of Zang Toi.
It is no wonder that the creative genius has an extensive celebrity fan base, but of all his famous supporters, Jil Zarin from the Real Housewives of New York City was a proud finale model. Other supporters include: Patti LaBelle, Sharon Stone, Heather Graham, Gong Li, Devon Aoki, Eva Longoria, Melinda Gates, Fergie, Ivana Trump and Farrah Fawcett.
Zang Toi’s ability to achieve a sophisticated yet sleek vibe in all of his clothing marked him an a global influence among Amy Chua,Jeremy Lin,Congresswoman Judi Chu, Ted Chen, William Wang,Wilson Ko, and Fu Productions.
Congresswoman Judi Chu has been seen in Zang Toi apparel and she says, ” I will keep on buying Zang Toi, as long has he keeps making these garments this fabulous.”
As the only Malaysian among Chinese-Americans ranked, the premiere luxury and style source for Chinese in the US and abroad, VIVID magazine informed the world on the fashion influencer who has and who will continue to influence the fashion world.
“I am blessed to be in the position I am in as I am doing what I love: fashion,” says Zang Toi.
Courtesy of IMAXtree.com and Matteo Volta
0