By Mae Chan | Dec 4, 2009
Zang Toi dresses up the home
Malaysia’s famous fashion designer lends his expertise to home décor.
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West 57th Street Café
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Zang Toi’s interior design sensibilities come to the fore with his stylish West 57th Street Café, an eatery at Parkson Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur that offers fusion fare. The simple café features clean and modern lines and a design that epitomises sheer elegance and spaciousness.
The space has allowed the Malaysian-born designer to translate his love for fashion design into interior design. The café offers mouth-watering cuisine, but what truly sets it apart is the mix of home products and decorative items that are for sale.
Inside West 57th Street Café
West 57th Street Café is named after the street where Zang Toi’s showroom is located in New York. The concept of the place is inspired by the fashion designer’s glamorous home: a blend of monochrome shades especially black, white and grey.
Zang Toi’s venture into home décor was purely accidental. On the café’s opening day, a guest instantly fell in love with a Venetian glass mirror on display and requested to buy it. It was a Zang Toi design.
Today, these imported handcrafted mirrors are the café’s most popular item. Designed with a classic contemporary style it easily complements any modern interior; making it the perfect centrepiece for any room.
The latest collections are elegantly displayed on the café’s walls and can be picked up for purchase. The good news is, there are over 200 designs to choose from and the size of the mirror is customisable!
A new series will soon be launched. There will be more contemporary designs in smaller sizes – perfect as a dressing table mirror for the ladies. Apart from that, there are also plans for a series with side borders lined with black-tinted glass.
Nonetheless, the Venetian glass mirrors are not the only attraction on display at the café as Zang Toi has also channelled his love for designs into other decorative items.
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Exquisite Venetian glass mirror
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A touch of Zang Toi for the home
Art Deco style, as well as Zang Toi’s love for “Old World” designs, has inspired the products and decorative items. It is reflected in the wall lamps, lamp stands and the elegant and beautiful chandeliers that are decorated with intricate floral patterns and fancy details.
Meanwhile, the silverware, cups and champagne glasses used in the café are also for sale. Not only does the silverware carry the Zang Toi emblem, it can also be customised with an imprint of the customer’s name.
Zang Toi’s philosophy of keeping the fun element in things is also represented in an eclectic collection of decorative items that will pique anyone’s interest. They include silver-plated ornaments such as Egyptian figurines, scarabs, dragonflies, birds and ducks. And who can forget the range of silver-plated fruits? There’s even a durian, which boldly reflects the designer’s Malaysian roots!
Zang Toi believes that decorating should be an expression of one’s personal tastes. Anyone is capable of creating a unique design by mixing and matching classic and postmodern designs. The trick of the trade is to take the products and incorporate influences of their own.
While creating home décor items may seem like a natural progression for Zang Toi, the 48-year-old is still very much into fashion design. Thus, one should not expect him to venture into home décor on a big scale anytime soon.
Meanwhile, for those who love his designs, you can now dress up your home with a little bit of Zang Toi too.
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