DUBAI: Newly crowned Miss Universe Bahrain Evlin Khalifa walked the runway at Amato Couture’s Arab Fashion Week show in Dubai on Oct. 11, and designer Furne One was all praise for the beauty queen.
“I really love her because she’s professional and she knows what she wants. And aside from being beautiful, she’s…easy to work with. And she’s very open to new ideas,” said One, who made Dubai his home in the early 1980s.
At Arab Fashion Week, One presented a mix of pret-a-porter and couture designs.
“It’s a little less embellished because I want to cater now to our new line. We’re making pret-a-porter, so it’s not very ornate. And the cut will be more feminine, very sexy and at the same time conservative,” said One, who is also the creative director behind the Miss Universe Bahrain and Miss Universe UAE beauty pageants.
Before Amato diversified, the idea behind the brand, initially, was to create a bridal shop. “I love to create conversational pieces because I don’t want just to create dresses; I like to also create art. But at the end of the day, it should be saleable. That’s why in every collection, I see to it that it’s 70 percent saleability and 30 percent art. That’s the DNA of the brand,” said One.
The Filipino designer likes to find inspiration from his home country. “We have lots of influences in the Philippines, like the Spaniards came, as well as the Americans and the Japanese. So, the arts and influences are very varied. So yes, I take a lot of inspiration from our culture,” said One.
After One left the Philippines, he mentored with Filipino-American fashion designer Josie Natori in New York. A few travel and work trips later, One was invited by a friend to visit Dubai. “I fell in love with Dubai…It gave me a lot of inspiration and a lot of things to learn, like embroidery, beadwork, and more. The craftsmen in Dubai are very, very good. I didn’t see this kind of work in the Philippines because we have other techniques. And in America, they’re more commercial. In Dubai, they’re artsier. I was so fascinated. So, I stayed in Dubai because, for me, every day is a learning process,” said One.
“Dubai gave us opportunity, gave us everything to be creative and to flourish in our craft,” he added.