Zang Toi Spring/Summer 2013

For his spring/summer 2013 collection, Zang Toi looked to the romance of the French Riviera. Zang Toi opened his runway show with an ivory silk gazar morning gown with hand-beaded wild flowers bordered with pleated ruffles. This opening look referenced Toi’s narrative of Madam du Château Lourmarin’s morning stroll through her lush gardens on the French Riviera as she reminisced about her fantasy lover.

For those who don’t know, the historic Château Lourmarin was built in the 15^th century and is located in the Provence countryside in the south of France very near to the Cote d’Azur. It is very interesting that Zang Toi looked to this historic castle as an inspiration for his spring/summer 2013 collection. But, Toi has done this before. With Zang Toi there is always a focal narrative. For his fall/winter 2012 collection, Toi conjured up images of Gstaad, in its heyday as a ski resort in the early 60s. Zang Toi has a knack for looking to the past for sophisticated elegance and funneling that chic regality through a prism of modernity. And Zang Toi did just that in this outing.

Zang Toi carried the French Riviera theme, mixed in with a little Folies Bergere, throughout the entire collection. And though the collection has moments of pastiche and a few misses, for the most part the collection was a rounding success.

From Zang Toi’s opening look to his ice pink hand-loomed rayon mini dress to the ice lilac princess ballgown encrusted with ice crystal hand-beaded blossoms and sequins, this collection transcended age demographics and had a variety of looks that a lot of women—if they can afford the price tag—would want to wear.

Zang Toi is one of the few designers that show regularly at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week that produces a runway presentation that evokes mood and takes to another place. And it’s a good place; a place where beauty triumphs, and design acumen and attention to detail is the order of the day.

If only life was so. Ah, we can all wish!!

—William S. Gooch