Zang Toi grew up in a small village in Malaysia as the youngest of seven in his family. He had always loved to draw and sketch but it was his sister who encouraged him to pursue a career in fashion design. Toi came to New York to study at Parsons School of Design when he was 20 years old. Upon graduating in 1984, the chairman of his department wanted to set him up on interviews with the top three brands at the time, howevever, he did not want to be one of twenty assistants of a top designer. He just wanted to be himself through his designs, so he started his own brand and put his own stamp on the fashion industry. He discusses the story behind the piece selected for the exhibit and also how he received a big break early on in his career from Anna Wintour. He reflects that there were many talented Asians in the fashion industry back when he started but they were always behind the scenes. He thinks that we have come a long way since, with many young Asian American designers stepping into the forefront of the industry after years of hard work by predecessors in the community.