76 | FORBES ASIA OCTOBER 2017
silk shantung cheongsam for a grandson’s wedding in
Malaysia.
Toi’s clients tend to be effusive about him as a designer
as well as a friend. Singer Patti LaBelle, who’s been wearing
Zang Toi for more than 1 5 years, says she met Toi at a party
thrown by a New York socialite friend. Her first Zang Toi
outfit was a short purple dress, with flowers embroidered
on the skirt, and a purple mink shawl, which she wore to a
Foundation for AIDS Research event. Three years ago, per-
forming at the White House’s “Women of Soul” show before
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama,
she wore a dramatic green, hand-beaded Zang Toi cape
over black silk pants and a blouse. She recalls the presi-
dent complimenting her on the outfit. Toi sends her flowers
every year on her birthday, says LaBelle, adding: “He’s like
my brother. He’s precious.”
Carol Alt, the model and actress, met Toi at a party
last year and has since been dressed by Zang Toi for red
carpet events and bought eight or nine pieces—a dress,
jacket, pants, a gray suit, a coat—for herself. “I’ve worn
everybody,” she says, reeling off names—Versace, Armani,
Ferragamo, Valentino, Zac Posen, Nicole Miller, Vivi-
enne Tam, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren. Of Zang she says:
“The way he cuts things, it’s just so perfect for my body.
He just has a way of making things that show off your best
attributes.”
What’s more, “he is the most lovely, most sweet, most
unpretentious, easiest person to get along with,” she says.
“That’s why women keep coming back.”
Ivana Trump, The Donald’s first wife, says, “I am a reg-
ular client and keep coming back because Zang Toi takes
great pride in making sure that his clients look and feel
great in his many designs, including bustier dresses, suits,
pantsuits, cashmere sweaters.”
If his mother’s uniform is the cheongsam, Toi’s is a mini-
version of the Scottish kilt. His first
kilt was made by Kinloch Ander-
son, kilt maker to Britain’s Prince
Charles. Toi flew to Edinburgh to be
measured and told them to make the
length just 1 3 inches, because “I am
short.”
He liked wearing it so much he
soon started making his own and
began wearing them everywhere, in-
cluding to the Council of Fashion
Designers of America Awards, where
he was photographed by the legend-
ary New York Times street photogra-
pher Bill Cunningham. “Everywhere
you go,” he says, “you mark your
arrival.”
On a summer afternoon at his
studio, he wore a short black kilt
with a discreet “T” embroidered in
black sequins across the crotch, the
logo for House of Toi. Above was a
white shirt and fitted black jacket.
Below, tanned legs ending in black
ankle socks and alligator-skin wing-
tip shoes. A bobby pin decorated
with a single crystal kept his black
hair out of his eyes.
He showed a visitor his latest
collection, which has a royal blue
theme. There were fitted daytime
jackets, lined in silk, for $10,000, to
go with $3,000 pants. A thin cash-
mere-and-silk V-neck sweater with a
built-in shirt collar was $3, 8 00. Eve-Forbes Life
Devon Aoki Eva Longoria Heather Graham Kirstie Alley Sharon Stone
LADIES’ MAN
ZANG TOI’S CLIENTS HAVE INCLUDED ELIZABETH TAYLOR, PATTI LABELLE AND IVANA TRUMP, AS WELL AS THE STARS BELOW. MICHAEL TRAN/FILMMAGIC; JEFFREY MAYER/WIREIMAGE; ROBERT MARQUARDT/WIREIMAGE;
MIKE COPPOLA/GETTY IMAGES FOR MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK; J.SCIULLI/WIREIMAGE
FOR AUDI OF AMERICA, INC.