Dubai-based designer Furne marks 25 years in fashion

When Dubai-based designer Fernando Barios won super magazine Winning the Philippine Young Designer Award in 1993 not only marked his entry into the fashion industry, but the culmination of a long-held dream for which he paid dearly.

Barios, better known as Furne, left home at the age of 17 after his parents rejected his career choices.

“My mother wanted me to be an accountant, and my father wanted me to be an engineer. In the past, those were careers,” he recalls. “They don’t see fashion design as a profession. But I stand my ground. Ultimately, there’s no choice.”

With 2,000 pesos (Dh138) and plenty of dreams, Furne turned his back on the comfortable life his pilot father and housewife mother had built in their home in Cebu, Philippines, and made a promise to himself.

“I was determined to show them that I could be a human being,” he said. “I must succeed.”

Today, Furne returns to his country to celebrate the 25th anniversary since the ceremony began with a fashion show and a gala celebrating Filipino rising stars.

“It’s like passing the torch,” he said with a laugh.

From Lady Gaga to Beyonce, Priyanka Chopra to Jennifer Lopez and Nicki Minaj, Furne is not only one of the Philippines’ largest fashion exporters, but also a beacon of fashion design in the UAE and a name of choice for socialites. Middle Eastern royalty through his brand Amato.

Known for his lavish creations, Furne started out with Dh5,000 party dresses and now sells wedding dresses for up to Dh250,000. He said prices for some of the pieces he designed for the royal family could not be estimated “because they gave us the stones directly and didn’t tell us the price”.

Not bad for someone who grew up dressing up dolls as little boys.

Furne’s love of fashion started when he was 9 or 10 years old, watching his mother and grandmother get dressed.

“My dad was away a lot, so I would accompany my mum to the tailor and be amazed by the fabric and the colorful threads,” he recalls.

He grew up at an all-boys school and says he was often teased for being different, but that didn’t hurt him.

“It didn’t affect me in any way. We’re a very open society, and I just found my group of friends,” he said with a sneer.

After leaving home after an argument with her parents, Furne moved into a hotel, studied fine art at university, and worked at a small boutique called Smart Shoes as a visual merchandizer to pay the bills. Impressed with his work, the owner of a fashion boutique next door enlists Furne’s help. Soon his fame spread, and before he knew it, he was approached by a major department store called Gaw to design a ready-to-wear capsule collection.

This ignited a passion for Furne, who at the age of 20 ditched college to become a full-time fashion designer.

around this time super magazinea monthly haute couture magazine, is looking for new talent for their National Young Designer Awards.

“The theme was ‘representing the Philippines in the international market.’ We had to send out sketches,” recalls Furne.

Out of “thousands” of applicants, the entrants were narrowed down to 20, then six, Furne recalls. The six finalists were then asked to bring their 12 sketches to life and present them to a jury in Manila, all at the aspiring designer’s expense.

“The review is broad. There are many stages,” Furne said. “The final stage is a fashion show.”

judges include former fashion paris Editor-in-Chief Colombe Pringle and Anniel Flanders of detail Magazine. Filipino-born American fashion designer Josie Natori, Fern’s mentor, leads the group.

After winning, Furne was sent to Paris, where he spent several months learning the ins and outs of the fashion industry, before heading to New York to apprentice with Natori.

It was while shuttling back and forth between the US and the Philippines that Fern traveled to Dubai at the invitation of a friend. He finally took the bait and fell in love with the city in 1998.

“My friend is a designer and during my visit he took me into his studio and showed me how the dresses are made and I was fascinated by the artisans in India making these beautiful beadwork . It’s like heaven to me,” he said enthused. “It’s very different from New York or even the Philippines, where New York is more functional. For me, fashion is art. I like to experiment, I like decoration, luxury and grandeur. I see all these crystals and fall in love.”

Furne started working in a tailor shop in Deira, where he met his business partner Rashid Ali, a Pakistani businessman dealing in fabrics. The two struck up an immediate friendship and in 2004 decided to open Amato, which means “dear” in Italian, at the Al Hana Center. The duo launched their label with a fashion show at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, and it wasn’t long before Furne’s creations caught the eye of wealthy Emirati women.

Amato initially focused on the bridal market, starting at Dh5,000 for party dresses and Dh15,000 for wedding dresses in the first year. But as demand grew, his fame spread to the wider Gulf states. …

As brand awareness grew, so did the fashion scene in the UAE, with the internet helping to spread the word.

In 2010, he was asked to dress for a contestant in Germany future supermodela branch of future supermodel Series, hosted by host and judge Heidi Klum. Furne said it really helped his brand go international. On the show, he also met pop star Katy Perry, who was on the finale. Impressed with his work, Perry asked him to design some costumes for her California Dream Tour, which she performed as many as 127 shows around the world.

Furne opened his first ready-to-wear store, Amato Luxe, in the Dubai Design District last year. His shop at Al Hana Center started with 10 tailors and now employs 80.

His 25th anniversary show tonight in Manila is titled your will donewill be a celebration and a testament to his conviction, he said.

“It’s going to have a modern look, but with the classic style I’ve always known,” he said. “It’s like my millennium ball.”

Fern is glad he managed to reconcile with his parents before they died. His father died of cancer five years ago, and his mother died of cancer a year later.

“Just after I finished designing for Katy Perry. I went home to see them and was so excited,” he said. “Mum said she was sorry she didn’t believe me. I told her that because of that, I was determined to succeed…it made me strong.”

Amato’s next plan is to go mainstream. “I’m learning every day. Learning is not enough,” he said. “I don’t think about fame or money. For me fashion is like a job, I’m constantly learning and I love doing it. I’m happy to be able to create something new every day, something great.”