This was the first time that Kirstie Alley modeled at a fashion show. She appeared in a stunningly beautiful blue-colored gown designed by Zang Toi who has maintained good ties with the actress for more than a decade.

Kirstie Alley’s catwalk, which was the last item of Zang Toi’s show, provided the perfect finale to the sometimes exotic and colorful presentation which fetched him a standing ovation from a discriminating public that comprised of fashion experts, critics, media and buyers. Indeed, Kirstie Alley’s catwalk was, as one fashion aficionado told FashionBiz, the “cherry on the icing” for Zang Toi who looked elated as he appeared together with the actress before the cheering crowds in New York’s Lincoln Center.

ZangToi, who has designed clothes for Hollywood stars and other celebrities, including Sharon Stone, Gong Li, Eva Longoria, Fergie of the Black Eye Peas, Heather Graham, the late Farrah Fawcett, Ivana Trump and Melinda Gates, is now considered an established name in the world of haute couture.

“His (Zang Toi’s) timeless and uncompromising designs pamper women with elegance and glamour,” Sheila Joseph, an American fashion expert, said in an interview with FashionBiz after the show.

Toi’s show, which is part of the New York Fashion Week, was unique in many ways. It was, as Toi put, inspired by the “Arab Spring” Some of his creations at the show reflected shades of Afro-Arab culture. Some creations on display during the catwalks offered flashes of Afro-Arab influences. For example, there was one desert silk gazar linen goddess coat bordered with 23K gold leaf, another one was a desert silk mousseline linen mini dress with draped gold chains. There was a men’s desert silk mousseline linen caftan with ebony French lace and ribbon trims with a matching silk mousseline linen drawstring trousers.

"It's about North Africa and my memories of Marrakech," Toi explained of the creations he showed from his latest collections. References to the “Arab Spring” were also subtly visible when one of his richly-designed outfits said: 'Make love, not war.'  “It's so beautiful and so exotic in that region, but there's a lot of conflict now." Toi also made an important “gold statement” by including real 18-karat gold jewelry made especially for the show.  He explained that gold is loved in the Arab world, adding that he had also included many stone colorsof the desert such as sapphire, ebony, ivory, etc.

During the presentation of his 33 creations, Toi organized background music that was a combination of North African influences intermingled with the Indian sitar and tabla (drums). The music took a turn for the sensual as he showed two presentations from his fashion theme “One thousand nights and one night” silk organza Goddess gown and beaded “One thousand nights and one night” imperial ball gown.

Finally, a blond male model, wearing a men’s sapphire silk velvet imperial robe lined with “One thousand nights and one night”, Toi deployed the classic musical score from the film “Lawrence of Arabia”, that had been originally composed by the musical genius Maurice Jarre. The combination of such exotic visuals and sounds left a deep impression on the audience which reacted emotionally and responded with a huge applause.

From his humble beginnings in Kelantan, where he helped his poor father, Toi has reached heights that most Malaysians can only dream of. Besides attaining success in his profession, Toi has also created a coterie of influential friends. Indeed, he was recently voted as one of the ten most influential Chinese-Americans. His rags-to-riches story, as many Asians say, could have been possible only in America. Toi is often referred to as “Malaysia’s best-known unofficial ambassador”.

But at heart, he likes to say, he still remains the “humble boy from Malaysia”.