NEW YORK: Although he has a large office-cum-show room premises in the heart of the Big Apple, Kelantan-born Datuk Zang Toi, the New York-based Malaysian fashion icon had long searched for suitable premises to set up an exclusive boutique store in the city where he could display his creations and also receive his discerning clients.
The five-year search for the premises ended as Zang Toi inaugurated the boutique store with the brand insignia of “Zang Toi” at the entrance of the store on Wednesday evening.
Located on the busy Lexington Avenue in the mid-seventy street, the store was opened with a steady stream of prominent guests pouring into the new store and extending their best wishes for the fashion designer who is often known as “Malaysia’s most visible face” in New York.
“This place is located In a neighbourhood which represents the New York character,” Zang Toi said in an interview with Bernama shortly after the inauguration ceremony when customers, socialites, local politicians, personalities from the field of culture and fashion, etc arrived and rushed to be photographed with the fashion designer.
As the evening progressed, the hyperactive photographers who had gathered on the pavement to take pictures of each arriving guest also attracted a large turnout of inquisitive onlookers. Zang Toi obliged his guests by individually posing with them for the photographers.
Zang Toi had arrived in the evening for the inauguration of his store after presenting his latest creations at a fashion show held two hours earlier as part of the New York Fashion Week.
The Malaysian fashion designer had presented his creations for spring 2018 season with the theme “Luxe Life on Lake Garda”.
“I spent some time on the beautiful Lake Garda In Italy where I got my inspiration for my latest creations which you saw during the catwalk in the afternoon,” Zang Toi said in the interview.
He pointed out that Lake Garda (Lago di Garda) had been a place for “rejuvenating” oneself with new ideas and concepts; after all, “poets and politicians, divas and creative people have all been drawn to the captivating Lake Garda which attracts a large number of tourists visiting Italy,” he explained.
“Zang Toi’s latest Italian-influenced creations presented a certain versatility combined with the smoothness of the colours that blended well with the exquisite designs,” Tom Masarratti, a Connecticut based observer of the fashion trends, told Bernama.
The collection opened with a series of caftans embroidered with chantilly lace and sleek pantsuits in primarily simple shapes. He stuck to four colors—emerald green, black, robin’s egg blue, and white—throughout the first half of the show, which featured elegant and occasionally sporty daywear.
Zang Toi’s shows, invariably, turn out to be a meeting point for celebrities and high-profiled buyers. Wednesday’s fashion show was no exception, with a number of celebrities and prominent people from New York’s social and cultural scene coming together and using the occasion to renew contacts and engage in small talk.
Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of U.S. President Donald Trump, was among the prominent guests.
Zang Toi’s clothes are made in New York City, and the designer counts Saudi royalty and Malaysian princesses among his upper crust clientele.
– BERNAMA