ZANG TOI’S FASHION career is the embodiment of “concrete jungle where dreams are made of”, as Alicia Keys sings in “Empire State of Mind”. He arrived on the shores of New York City (NYC) from Kuala Krai, Kelantan, enrolling at the Parsons School of Design. In 1989, he set up House of Toi, and has since made a name for himself, by dressing A-listers from the first lady of the US, Melania Trump, to the late Elizabeth Taylor, and current celebrities like Eva Longoria and Gong Li.
In an exclusive conversation with Penang Monthly, Zang Toi reflects on his couture legacy and how his Malaysian identity is still reflected in his runway shows, even after almost four decades abroad.
Rachel Yeoh (RY): Dato’ Zang Toi, the world knows you as a formidable couturier. Tell us a little about yourself and how far you’ve come since you left Malaysia.
Zang Toi (ZT): I was born and raised in Kuala Krai, Kelantan. I am, of course, still a proud Kelantanese. I usually come back to Malaysia every year to visit my now 98-year-old mother and family. My favourite Malaysian dish is Nasi Dagang—it is what I grew up eating for breakfast; that’s common especially if you are from either these two regions, Kelantan or Terengganu. It is also here that is said to be the cradle of the “Golden Thread” tradition, that is, the songket. I think the songket is a most beautiful, decadent and intricate fabric. As a matter of fact, for my 30th anniversary collection, which premiered in Spring 2020, I did my version of the songket fabric for the evening section. However, instead of the traditional metallic thread used in the fabric, we hand-beaded it with the tiniest of silver beads to recreate the songket. I gifted that entire evening section collection to Her Royal Highness (HRH) Tengku Anis of Kelantan after the show. She was the one who organised my inspiration trip in 2018. She closed up all the museums and a factory for me to tour. This year is my 37th in business, and I’ve done three collections inspired by Malaysia: its cultures and fabrics. One of them won me the Mouton-Cadet Young Designer of the Year Award in the early 1990s. I did another Malaysia-inspired collection in 1994. I designed a beautiful fabric with leopard prints but with a modern twist. The leopard print was surrounded by beautiful, vibrant orchid flowers. HRH Tengku Anis of Kelantan—she is a very good artist—hand-painted those orchids, which we showcased on the runway. It was a big hit!
RY: How do you decide which cultural elements will translate best to your American clientele and on the runway?
ZT: People always talk about how writers have writer’s block—but thank God that after 37 years, I haven’t had that block yet. I run in the park for approximately 30 minutes five, six days a week. It is during these moments when design ideas just happen. After my run, I just sit at the park bench and start typing in the designs. I would send it to my assistant to save it. Then, there is a lot of research, re-editing, creating and designing. I am a firm believer of “doing it my way”. I never think about how a collection would bring me fame or money. I go with what makes me happy and what I think is going to make a beautiful collection. Once that is done, I sell it to my clients according to my price.
RY: Oh, so it’s the reverse—not thinking about your clients, but thinking about yourself first and what makes you happy. I guess you were thinking a lot about the songket when you designed “Home Sweet Home”.
ZT: Exactly… the things that I grew up with and that I knew from my childhood. All the beautiful batik sarongs in the market, the songket, etc. I wasn’t even thinking about my clientele at that point. I just wanted to bring back my beautiful, happy childhood memories and pay homage to my home country. My aim was to create a really beautiful collection that made me and fellow Malaysians proud. It was a dedication, a tribute to Malaysia.
RY: When you begin a collection, do you choose the fabric first and let it dictate the silhouette, or does your sketch come first?
ZT: The inspiration comes first. Whether it is from my travels within Malaysia or a collection inspired by Paris, my favourite city in the world. When that inspiration comes, I close my eyes and I can already envision the look and how it will be presented on the runway. Once that is done, I start researching the fabric. I decide what fabric will be ideal for the design of that particular collection. The sketching is the very last stage of the collection. I’m fortunate enough to go anywhere around the world, get myself huddled up in a nice suite for a week and stay up all night sketching a collection. I love to stay up, sometimes up until 6am sketching, having a lot of fun by myself. Then I sleep during the day and get up in the afternoon and go to the gym, have dinner—just one meal—and then back again, sketching all night long.
RY: I recently watched your latest collection, and the first piece was a gorgeous cape studded with diamonds to create a glittering city. Can you tell me about it?
ZT: The infamous skyscraper cape—that is the third version I did. The very first version of that cape was a New York City skyscraper cape which I did in 2009. That year, I did not do a formal runway show. I was so busy raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, to improve the lives of cancer survivors. So that year, in lieu of a formal runway show, I did something I considered brave—I took over Restaurant Daniel by the famous chef Daniel Boulud. Instead of a runway show, I sold tickets to those who wanted to come for the event. It was a champagne reception followed by an intimate runway show. All proceeds were paid out of my pocket—every penny from the ticket sales and the silent auction and the live option went to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. We were able to raise over USD750,000. I was raising money for a great cause and decided to do a New York skyline-inspired collection. This cape went into the archive afterwards.
