There was a lot going on during the long wait for Zang Toi’s show at The Dock at Moynihan Station. His brother, Seeluon, who owns a restaurant back home in Malaysia, was handing out the light meal that he comes here each show season to prepare, package and deliver to photographers. “Orange is the New Black” actress Jackie Cruz was surrounded by fans and photographers. American Ballet Theatre’s former prima ballerina, Irina Dvorovenko, was chatting with old friends as she nudged her daughter, Emma, to pick up candy that had been inadvertently dropped on the runway by Patti LaBelle. And later, at the show’s end, Toi ran out in a short, white pleated-cotton skirt and Charvet shirt to embrace the wildly enthusiastic LaBelle.
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In between was a stunning lineup that was Toi at his most sophisticated. It began with a white cotton group that included everything from a svelte blazer and high-waist trousers to a dramatic Swiss cotton oversize shirt and hip-hugging miniskirt trimmed in platinum leather. Toi’s white cotton organdy blouses with pouf sleeves — a few bordered in eyelet lace — were some of his best looks.
In a more arty mood, Toi used vibrant Greek granny crochet patches on his hand-loomed cotton jackets, sculpted coats and A-line dresses. Yet he never slipped into ethnic excess. For nighttime, a navy woven silk sheath with green sequined cap sleeves was one of the designer’s stronger looks. But some of his sweeping, swirling, floor-length embellished gowns and capes were too theatrical, especially for this industrial stage.