Early life

He was born in the Kuala Krai

Kuala Krai

Kuala Krai is a territory and town in the interior of the State of Kelantan in the north-east of Malaysia.-Kuala Krai territory:...

 district in the state of Kelantan

Kelantan

Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....

 on 11 June 1961.
Toi left his native Malaysia at the age of eighteen, and via Toronto, landed in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 a year later. There he attended Parsons School of Design

Parsons The New School for Design

Parsons The New School For Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is the art and design college of The New School university. It is located in New York City's Greenwich Village, and has produced artists and designers such as Marc Jacobs, Dean and Dan Caten, Norman Rockwell, Donna Karan, Jane...

 and apprenticed with Mary Jane Marcasiano and Ronaldus Shamask

Ronaldus Shamask

Ronaldus Shamask is an American fashion designer.-Biography:Ronaldus Shamask was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands and raised in Australia. He was trained as an architect and is self-taught in fashion design. He started his professional career a window display designer in Melbourne...

. 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 Mark J. Green

Mark J. Green

Mark J. Green is an author, public interest lawyer and a Democratic politician who lives in New York City. He worked with Ralph Nader from 1970-1980, eventually as director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch, and is also the former president of Air America Radio .He was New York City Consumer...

 for Toi’s artistic contributions and achievements. In March 1997, Toi was awarded a knighthood by the Sultan of Kelantan. Mr. Toi is also a recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.

Business

Toi has served several style arbiters including Sharon Stone

Sharon Stone

Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...

, Patti LaBelle

Patti LaBelle

Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...

, Ivana Trump

Ivana Trump

Ivana Trump is a former Olympic athlete, socialite, and fashion model noted for her marriage to mogul Donald Trump.-Early years:...

, Hazelle Goodman

Hazelle Goodman

Hazelle Goodman is an actress from Trinidad and Tobago. As a child she was inspired to become an actress after viewing The Sound of Music, before her family moved to New York where she was raised in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn.- Career :After graduating from City College of New York with a...

, Kelly Preston

Kelly Preston

Kelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...

, Kirstie Alley

Kirstie Alley

Kirstie Louise Alley is an American actress known for her role in the TV show Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe from 1987–1993, winning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991...

, Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...

, Meg Ryan

Meg Ryan

Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra , professionally known as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. Raised in Bethel, Connecticut, Ryan began her acting career in 1981 in minor roles, before joining the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982...

, and Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...

. 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 globally fine stores including the Couture Department at Nordstrom

Nordstrom

Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...

, fine specialty boutiques and Zang Toi Boutiques in Malaysia.

Partnerships

In most of his fashion shows, Toi has employed the services of another famous Malaysian, Ling Tan

Ling Tan

Ling Tan whose full name is Tan Mang Ling. Family name is Tan ' , is a Malaysian Chinese model born in 1974 in Kuala Lumpur...

, whose career he helped to kick-start.

External links

• House of Toi