Ralph Lauren Dress at Met Gala Alleged To Be Copy of Malaysia-Born Designer Datuk Zang Toi’s Dress

This year’s Met Gala had its own share of drama when a Ralph Lauren dress worn by singer-songwriter Alicia Keys courted controversy for allegedly being a ‘copy’ of Malaysia-born designer Datuk Zang Toi’s dress.

According to a report in The Star citing, the controversy was much talked about in the social media.

The Ralph Lauren dress had a cape featuring the New York City skyline, quite similar to a dress Zang featured during his Autumn/Winter show at New York Fashion Week in 2020.

Reportedly, Zang had said that it was inspired by New York City which he considers as his second home.

The report also mentioned that the skyline cape came from Zang’s archives and that he first included it into his collection in 2009.

Meanwhile, when contacted by StarLifestyle, Zang had responded to the issue by saying that ‘he thinks it is a compliment for another designer to copy him.’

"That a giant brand name company such as Ralph Lauren would copy a small town boy from Malaysia is a high form of flattery.

"It is proof that you are good at your craft when someone copies your work," he told StarLifestyle.

While he added that he is just glad people noticed the copying the problem persists in the fashion industry.

However, he just wishes to take this situation as a compliment.

"There is a fine line between being inspired by another designer, and out right copying where everyone noticed it immediately," he was quoted as saying.

We totally agree!