| Filipino designer Furne One takes the fashion world by storm |
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| Written by Elgin Zulueta on Tuesday, 05 May 2009 20:49 |
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 Filipino designer Furne One takes the fashion world by storm Imagine hearing music of your choosing playing in the background, spotlights trained on a long runway encircled by seats overflowing with guests filled with eager anticipation for what’s to come, and one by one models wearing vibrantly colorful flowing gowns and dresses accentuated with dramatic makeup gracefully stride down the path eliciting gasps of awe and admiration. Behind the models your name stands out in bold lettering as your creations are paraded with all the flair for each and everyone to see. This is the dream all fashion designers have—to have their work exhibited and fawned over. For some, it has become a reality. For others, they have taken it even further. Such is the case for Furne Oné, internationally-known haute couture fashion designer. Hailing from the Philippines, Furne has carved out a name for himself in the high-end fashion industry, and has had the opportunity to closely work with foreign celebrities and well known public figures. Children are often asked what they would like to be when they grew up. Some answer for the sake of answering, but there are those who already know what they want even at that early stage in life as if they were born for it. For Furne, the idea of designing clothes slowly dawned at the age of 10 as he would do sketches one after another. His mother and grandmother, who were ‘fashionistas’, were his inspiration as he knew them to enjoy wearing beautiful clothes. Unbeknownst to him, this was the beginning of his journey to becoming who he is today. He never stopped sketching, continuing as he grew older and would have taken up Fashion Design in college had it been available at that time. Just like any other designer, Furne dreamt of recognition. Slowly, but surely, it started to materialize. In 1994, he won the Philippines’ 1st Mega Magazine Young Designers Competition’s top prize – a trip to Paris, where he trained for a short while. Things were looking up as later on one of the judges of that competition, Josie Natori, founder and CEO of The Natori Company based in New York, invited Furne to be an apprentice in her company, a dream come true for anyone. After a time, he joined another competition back home in the Philippines, where he also won the top prize – this time a trip to Japan. There, Furne won the Japan’s Women’s Wear Award. After much reflection, his decision to be based abroad was made. The destination? Dubai. It turned out to be an ideal place because of the racial diversity found there. At first, he worked for a company designing and making clothes for the affluent class. Then in 2002, encouraged by the urgings of his loyal clients to try making it on his own, Amato Haute Couture was borne. Aptly named, Amato (meaning beloved) Haute Couture houses Furne’s high-end fashion designs that are greatly influenced by his exposure to the local fashion, consisting of exquisitely intricate hand stitching and beadwork, beadwork that he considers vital to the overall appearance of his creations. Furne’s name and stunningly imaginative creations was surely making its way to the right people. Last year, it caught the attention of one of fashion’s VIP figures – Supermodel and host of Project Runway and Germany’s Next Top Model, Heidi Klum. Seeing photos of his collection convinced her to request Furne to design the gowns of the models for the final round of her show. Considering that known fashion labels and upcoming designers vie to have their creations seen in this show, it was truly a pleasant surprise for Furne to have been chosen among all of them. Because of the media coverage featuring the gowns he created, he became an instant celebrity in Germany and the clamor for his work grew louder. Not only that, Heidi Klum has invited him again to do the collection for this year’s show. Everything that has transpired in Furne’s career is more than what any designer could wish for, yet his success certainly didn’t end there. On July 2008, Furne was part of the Dubai Fashion Fiesta, which was held at the World Trade Center in Dubai. Organizers of the Miami Fashion Week (MFW), an event where the ‘who’s who’ and everything fashion converge for a grand show presenting the creations of designers from all over the globe, were present to watch the show. They were drawn to Furne’s collection so much so that they invited him to join the highly anticipated event in Miami. Attendees and, most importantly, judges of the event were blown away by the magnificence of Furne Oné’s 39-piece collection infused with the right blending of Eastern and Western styles and accentuated with colorful Swarovski jewels. It isn’t a wonder that Furne clinched the Designer’s Choice Award. This is truly the stuff of dreams, and it is because of the hard work and diligence that Furne Oné has given that has taken him this far. He definitely won’t be sitting on his laurels as he continues to put all his effort into his passion to take this dream even further. by: Elgin Zulueta |
