Runway to Asia Is More Than a Fashion Show With This Houston Designer Celebrating His Vietnamese Roots and Texas Glamour

Models showcasing the inventive fashions of Houston born designer Bach Mai glided down the catwalk in the Post Oak Hotel ballroom in a retrospective of Mai’s remarkable career. The presentation by the fashion designer, who has been dubbed “a couturier in the making” by Vogue magazine, served as the focus of Asia Society Texas’ second annual “Runway to Asia” luncheon.

The inaugural fundraiser in 2025 spotlighted the work of Malaysian Zang Toi and Houston’s Danny Nguyen, who was born in Saigon.

“By honoring Asian and Asian American designers, Runway to Asia celebrates style as a powerful artistic language of culture, identity and representation,” Asia Society Texas president Bonna Kol tells PaperCity. “More than a showcase, this event is a tribute to heritage and empowerment  — elevating couture as an expression of who we are and the stories we carry.

“Now in its second year, we look forward to growing Runway to Asia into one of Houston’s must-see fashion experiences. And further strengthening support for Asia Society Texas’ mission to celebrate the vibrant diversity of Asia and Asian American communities.”

The luncheon was chaired by Divya Brown and Janae Tsai, both of Asian descent. and both Asia Society Texas board members. Tsai, Asia Society Texas board member, and husband Kenny Tsai were joined by American First National Bank as lead supporters of the event.

The ladies presented Bach Mai with the the Global Icon award in recognition of his artistic vision and global influence. That vision was witnessed in the 75 looks that canvassed Mai’s oeuvre from his brand’s launch in 2021 to his newest collection today.

“For me, a lot of these pieces have never been on a runway, because we were pulling from some of our early collections that we weren’t doing runway yet,” Mai told PaperCity between fittings at Tootsies, which carries the brand exclusively in Houston. “Or some of them had never even been in a presentation, like those Hyatt fringe dresses.

“But seeing them on the runway with the runway lights, like I gasped. I felt the whole room gasped.”

Indeed, it did. The shimmering fringe dresses almost looked like they were fashioned from icicles.

“That was such a special moment,” Mai says. “We’ve been trying to find a way to bring it back because it’s become such a signature. But it’s such an expensive technique that we’re trying to find a way to make it more commercialized. We still get orders on that dress every few months.”

It is all a bonus for Lone Star ladies, particularly those who shop at Tootsies where Bach Mai is carried exclusively.

“Texas is where American glamor, I think, really lives,” Mai says. “Like here the women really live, eat and breathe glamor in a very real way. And so I think that’s always influenced me. And that’s why my clothes always have this glamorous bent to them.

“Because that’s what I grew up around.”

PC Seen: Asia Society Texas board chair Marty Goossen and Kathy Goossen, Phoebe Tudor, Sushila Agrawal, Nina Altuve, Melina Awar, Susan Boggio, Chris Brown, Mary Patton, Amanda Buffone, Tripp Carter, Jennifer Chan, Hasti Taghi, Theresa Chang, Julie Longoria Chen, Shern-Min Chow, China Contreras, Chloe Dao, Lily Foster, Robert Gondo, Catherine Goossen, Lacey Goossen, Nancy Guinee, Brigitte Kalai, and Shirley Kwan.