Zang Toi (born 11 June 1961) is a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

of Chinese descent, based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Early life

He was born to an ethnic

Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ', Hainanese Pinyin: ',), also known as Qióngwén, Heng2 vun2 () or Qióngyǔ, Heng2 yi2 (), is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan and Overseas Chinese su ...

family in the

Kuala Krai Kuala Krai (alternative spelling: Kuala Kerai, Jawi: كوالا كراي) is a town located in the coterminous Kuala Krai District in southern-central Kelantan, Malaysia. During British protection it was known as ''Kuala Lebir''. It is 67 ...

district in the state of Kelantan, Malaysia on 11 June 1961. Toi left

at the age of eighteen, and via Toronto, arrived in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

a year later. There he attended

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

and apprenticed with

Mary Jane Marcasiano Mary Jane Marcasiano (born September 23, 1955) is an American fashion and costume designer, film producer, and social entrepreneur. Early life and education Marcasiano was born in East Hanover Township, New Jersey and later attended Hanover ...

and Ronaldus Shamask. In 1989, with a modest collection of bright sarongs, strong suits and regal dresses, he opened his own atelier.

Achievements

In 1991, Toi won the Mouton-Cadet Young Designers Award, surprising many considering the competition he faced that day. His most recent award of distinction was presented by

New York City Public Advocate The office of New York City Public Advocate (President of the City Council) is a citywide elected position in New York City, which is first in line to succeed the mayor. The office serves as a direct link between the electorate and city government ...

Mark J. Green Mark Joseph Green (born March 15, 1945) is an American author, former public official, public interest lawyer, and Democratic politician from New York City. Green was New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner from 1990 to 1993 and New York Ci ...

for Toi's artistic contributions and achievements. In March 1997, Toi was awarded a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

by the Sultan of Kelantan. Mr. Toi is also a recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence. In 2013, he was awarded the title of

Datuk Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldes ...

by the King of Malaysia.

Business

Toi has served several style arbiters including

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

, Ivana Trump, Hazelle Goodman,

Kelly Preston Kelly Kamalelehua Smith (October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020), known professionally as Kelly Preston, was an American actress. She appeared in more than 60 television and film productions, including '' Mischief'' (1985), '' Twins'' (1988), ...

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...

Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American–Canadian actress and poker player. Known for her distinctive voice and comedic timing, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two MTV Movie Awards and three Sa ...

, Jill Zarin, Meg Ryan, and Fergie from

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo (rapper), Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie (singer ...

. Be it the House of Toi signature collection or the "Z" collection, his moderately priced bridge line, Toi's creations are marketed as original and feminine pieces. Zang Toi is available in fine stores globally including the Couture Department at

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...

, fine specialty boutiques and Zang Toi Boutiques in Malaysia. Zang Toi launched his new line of fine makeup with Amazingcosmetics at his Spring 2013 runway show.

Partnerships

In most of his fashion shows, Toi has employed the services of another famous Malaysian, Ling Tan, whose career he helped to kick-start.

Summary

Awards Received: 1990 Mouton Cadet Young Designer Award Brand names/Divisions: Zang Toi

References

External links

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Zang Toi
1961 births Living people Malaysian people of Chinese descent People from Kelantan Parsons School of Design alumni Malaysian fashion designers Malaysian businesspeople {{fashion-bio-stub