Page 8 - Real Style March 2018

deSert dreamin’
by fatima Syed
aMaTO cOUTUrE DESIGNEr FUrNE ONE FINDS hIS haPPILY EVEr aFTEr IN DUBaI.
Entering the Dubai-based studio of Amato Couture, we are immediately greeted by a sense of calm. Grant- ed, the emerging Design District in this luxurious Middle Eastern fashion capital is already a serene yet re- splendent place on its own. Nestled among the Design District’s towering of ce buildings with their proud, con- temporary architecture is the pastel paradise where the Amato magic is created. And greeting us at the door, clad in black with an impressive shock of platinum hair, is the creator himself, designer Furne One.
year, and is home to the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. And One himself has gone from ano- nymity to attiring the likes of pop stars Katy Perry and Beyoncé, in a Cinderella story that echoes the growth of his adopted city.
When we ask One about nding his happily ever after, he attributes it all to paying his dues. Although the design talent’s confectionery-hued and embel- lished gowns may bring images of grandeur to mind, his own philosophy is one of simplicity. “Talent is im- portant, and hard work. Determination and ambition is important. Fashion is not about glamour, or parties. It’s hard work,” he tells us.
The rst chapter of this particular fairy tale takes us back to One’s native Philippines, where he decided to study Fine Arts with a major in advertising. As an up-and-comer in the early 1990s, One was awarded the prestigious Young Designer Of The Philippines prize. More than 20 years later, the Amato Couture founder still cites this 1994 achievement as one of his favourite fashion memories.
“The judges are international. We had interna- tional Japanese designer Junko Kushino. We had Co- lombe Pringle, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris at the time, Ann Flanders, the editor of Details magazine, and Stephan Gan, the editor of Visionare magazine. That’s one of my moments,” he says.
After being titled the Young Designer Of The Philip-
The Philippines-born couturier apprenticed in New York City and worked in Japan before he moved to Dubai in 2002 and launched Amato Couture with business partner Rashid Ali. Back then, the now-cosmo- politan city was in its early days, a mysterious locale in the desert that was not yet a tourist hot spot. At the time, One was still a rising talent on his way to becom- ing a household name. In fact, when we rst watched Amato Couture’s stunning Spring 2018 runway show at Toronto Women’s Fashion Week last October, the label was news even to our keen sartorial eyes! Mean- while, One was thrilled to bring his couture frocks to Toronto, a city that he affectionately describes as a “mini New York.”
Today, both scripts have completed ipped. Dubai attracts countless tourists from all over the globe every
8 Real Style March 2018
PhOtOs, aMatO cOuture