GLITTERING DRESSES, POP PRINCESSES, AND MAKE BELIEVE - IN.FASHION
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IN.FASHION
Glittering
Dresses,
Pop
Princesses,
and Make
Believe
IN MAGAZINE DIVES INTO
THE FANTASY WORLD OF
FURNE ONE, OF AMATO
HAUTE COUTURE.
Words by Danna Lorch
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Furne One is darling couturier to the pop He opens the smudged glass door to the Amato
kingdom’s reigning princesses, and yet his showroom and I follow him blindly, first through
showroom is located on the second floor of Al a darkened hallway made to look like a garden
Hanaa Centre, a decaying mall in Satwa—the path, tall urns of fake roses and murals of famous
hard working neighborhood in Dubai known for French grounds discernable only in silhouette.
its meticulous tailors and tiny Indian cafeterias. He brushes through a pair of velvet curtains, flips
The mall’s outdated furniture is mismatched on a light and suddenly I have been transported
with holes. Trapped in garish wedding gowns, to Furne’s fantasy world—an enormous paneled
plastic mannequins look out from shop windows room, painted bubblegum pink, lit with antique
with the vacant eyes of brides stood up at the chandeliers, and the best part—row after row of
alter. A Chinese acupuncturist and a hair salon his sparkling gowns to explore.
both stand empty of customers, the employees
waiting bored inside, playing on their cell phones. He keeps walking, oblivious to the little girl inside
of of me clapping her hands in delight, wanting
Casual in a black t-shirt, leopard print deck shoes, to do nothing but play dress up for the rest of
and a patchwork shawl, Furne One paces outside the afternoon, twirling in circles to admire the
his workshop, speaking inaudibly into his cell meticulous beadwork, the rustling of skirts, the
phone. I recognize him immediately by his quirky length of trains. Most of the dresses glisten with
hair; loose curls dyed a bright ginger, springing hundreds if not thousands of hand sewn crystals
playfully in every direction from his head. or beads. There is a unique element of movement
to his creations, even when they are hanging in
In a soft voice, he invites me to follow him, wait for the next party.
explaining sheepishly that he has rented this
space for ten years and because “We started Furne parts two pocket doors to reveal a salon,
here. We cannot move now because our local and casually collapses onto a black velvet
clientele knows this place.” I quickly learn that chaise, gesturing me to a matching bench. A
no matter how big his reputation has grown, this glass coffee table in front of us is piled high
man values loyalty to his clients and friends more with magazines, each one featuring a celebrity
than almost anything else. dressed in one of his designs; a bejeweled
Jennifer Lopez smiles up at us approvingly. We
Born in the Philippines, Furne immigrated to Dubai sit there in awkward silence for a second, trying
fourteen years ago to launch his line, Amato Haute to read one another. I am immediately struck by
Couture, and cannot see himself permanently his shyness and real vulnerability. Crossing his
based anywhere else but the melting pot Emirate arms and legs as if to protect his body from the
that he says, “spoils me with inspiration.” assault of my questions, he actually looks a little
nervous to begin the interview.
Amato first became well known internationally,
when it was worn by supermodel Heidi Klum, His secretary serves me coffee with milk and
who invited Furne to guest design for Germany’s I am surprised to taste simple Nescafe rather
Next Top Model in 2008. At Top Model he was than the sophisticated European espresso I had
introduced to singer songwriter Katy Perry, and expected. Part of Furne’s charm is that although
in subsequent years to other A-Listers like Lady he designs for divas (he refers to them like old
Gaga and Justin Bieber. friends by their first names: Jennifer, Nicki and
Haifa) he is not a diva himself — He can’t list
When Katy Perry began appearing in his custom rival fashion houses and doesn’t have many
creations at events ranging from the MTV Music close friends who are fellow designers. His
Awards to her sold out California Dreams tour, intimate team consists of a cousin who serves as
Amato’s popularity also exploded like one of secretary, and his childhood best friend turned
Katy’s fireworks across the fashion world’s sky, personal assistant. He calls the black t-shirt the
celebrities and GCC “it” girls alike suddenly male equivalent of every lady’s LBD. “If I find one
reaching their perfectly manicured hands out for I like and the fit is okay, I buy twenty of the same
one of his signature pieces. shirt. It’s like my uniform.”
“AMATO HAUTE COUTURE ONLY CREATES CUSTOM
ONE-OFF PIECES WITH EACH DRESS TAKING TWO
WEEKS TO ONE MONTH TO TURN OUT”
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Furne regularly turns down glamorous invitations and Crediting hard work and determination, Furne
avoids most red carpet appearances. He says, “I really nevertheless taught himself to sew clothes first for his
enjoy going to a party if it is with a friend, like Katy Perry, dolls, later for his sister, and now for Katy Perry. When I
who is a very genuine, positive girl. If I am not out with pump him for the details of designing Perry’s California
good friends, I’d rather stay home. Maybe it’s just my Dreams concert tour costumes, he modestly refers to
age, because I used to stay out all night when I was the project as “a collaboration” between Amato, Perry,
younger, get two or three hours of sleep and wake up and her stylist team. While conceiving the costumes, he
fine the next day.” listened to her music nonstop, riffing off her playful and
upbeat style: “You see, when Katy told me that she was
He claims to be immune to public praise and criticism, doing this concert tour, she had the concept in mind
explaining, “I make a collection [only] to please myself,” already. It was going to be candy themed. I followed her
and describing his growth as a “constant learning stylists’ descriptions of how the tour would look, feel and
process, only ever aimed at attempting to one up his so forth. From that concept I made the designs, they
own previous collections.” His self-esteem is quietly suggested some small modifications, and then I went to
fierce and so it makes sense that Furne describes “The America for the fittings.”
Amato woman as confident in herself, “ My woman is
unafraid afraid of the dictates of fashion. That’s why Again and again he mentions “Tim” [Burton], whom he
I love Cate Blanchett. Check out her red carpet. She has never met, but is his greatest influence. Amato’s
experiments. She doesn’t care if she makes a worst most famous show to date, “It’s Alive,” debuted in
dressed list, as long as she cares about wearing that 2012 at Los Angeles Fashion Week and was a “little
dress. She isn’t a clone. “ Edward Scissorhands and a little Frankenstein.” There
is something insect-like about the show’s feel, and
He may be drawn to winter settings in Salzburg and watching it, one feels almost as if a new, fierce race of
Versailles for “gray skies and gloomy climates,” which butterflies has conquered the runway. Models saunter
mirror his own quickly changing moods, but his favorite with flippant confidence in metal headdresses, masks,
place of all is actually home in Dubai, where he loves wings, or spikes, their makeup bold, their shoulders
to spend days off headquartered in bed, ordering no sharp, the runway snapping wildly with electricity,
frills takeout and watching his beloved Tim Burton films threatening to blow a fuse at any second. Yet, their
over and over. He explains that inspiration for entire strong looks are feminized by exaggerated hips
collections comes to him when he is alone like this, his crocheted of lace, their dresses embellished by the
brain working subconsciously while his body rests. most delicate of beadwork, and crystal detailing.
Sometimes he goes weeks without feeling inspired, A little naively, I ask Furne if in all seriousness, he has
and then in a burst of creativity, conjures up an entire seen clients wear an entire look, masks and all, on the
collection over a single manic night’s effort. Other red carpet or to a wedding in the region. He actually
times his assistant is bewildered, when just as a laughs out loud and says “Of course not! It’s just a
collection is nearing completion, Furne looks sideways fantasy. When I present a show, it’s not about who will
skeptically, frowns, then demands that the whole look be buy the clothes afterwards. I create the show to be a
demolished and rebuilt in a different style. unique experience that anyone who attends will always
remember. I’m inviting them into my world.”
Although he dreams of going global with a ready to
wear collection sometime in the future, at present
Amato Haute Couture only creates custom one-off
pieces—each dress takes two weeks to one month to “HIS FAVORITE PLACE OF ALL
turn out. More than ninety skilled artists hand create the IS ACTUALLY HOME IN DUBAI,
garments in the workshop next door to the showroom.
It’s a long way from Furne’s first days as a designer,
WHERE HE LOVES TO SPEND
when as a young child, he would watch in awe as DAYS OFF HEADQUARTERED
his mother and grandmother, both fashionistas, got IN BED, ORDERING NO
dressed to attend high society events. Inspired by
their style, he announced that he would grow up
FRILLS TAKEOUT AND
to become a designer in a country that at that time WATCHING HIS BELOVED
didn’t have a single fashion institute to its good name. TIM BURTON FILMS”
IN 32 | SPRING/SUMMER 2013 SPRING/SUMMER 2013 | IN 33You can also read
