While reviews from New York Fashion Week are heralding minimalism, and Milan runways are flaunting wearable designs, here in Manila — last Saturday, at least — fashion was anything but with the gala showing of Furne One’s comeback collection at the Makati Shangri-La. The Dubai-based Filipino designer, who showed in London Fashion Week last month, took his creations home for the first time in 13 years, mostly with the help of TV personality Tessa Prieto-Valdes and civic activist Kaye Tinga, who produced the show for the benefit of the Philippine National Red Cross-Rizal Chapter and the Assumption High School Batch 1981 Foundation.
The show titled “First of One – A Fashion Collection by Furne One” acquainted Manila with a 54-piece gala collection named “War and Roses” that takes inspiration from 16th century English matriarch Queen Elizabeth I. Ingeniously sticking to a palette of mostly nudes and eggshell white shades, Furne One (pronounced “Fern O-ne”) defies the wearability trend by presenting silhouettes that cinch in waists with corseted bodysuits and exaggerate forms with massive shoulder details, abundant trains and back details. The collection also fervently flouts minimalism with One’s liberal use of Swarovski crystals and threadwork. “Filipino women have long been influenced by American minimalist or casual fashion, and have always preferred safer choices when it comes to their style,” explains One. “I hope to open their eyes to other, more exciting possibilities. After all, fashion is all about excess, indulgence, and fun.”
An eye-opener is what exactly his show was. His first two looks, simultaneously shown on a rectangular box runway, were sartorial caffeine kicks of Swarovski-encrusted corsets, structured bodysuits, and enchanting chiffon details. Soon came gowns with fully-crystallized bodices, Lady Gaga-esque fur coats, strapless dresses with bulbous hips, hand-painted riding jackets with mini bustles, fluid beaded chiffon gowns with back braces and even a structured minidress made of beautifully-carved palochina wood. The use of rich fabric such as French lace, silk, and taffeta also greatly helped display One’s majestic ambitions.
Completing the all-out grandiosity, One topped his creations with specially-crafted headgear that went from rather subdued beaded hoods to more elaborate pieces carved in the images of chess pieces, a reference to “Queen Elizabeth’s legendary prowess, not only as a sovereign ruler but also as a strategist and warrior.”
“I paid more attention to detail in this collection to make it like a cinematic masterpiece. It feels more personal to me than the collections I’ve done before, because I’m doing this for my fellow Filipinos,” says the 42-year-old designer. If anything, One’s elaborate collection reminds us of the vicarious thrill of fashion, that in more ways than one, it can also be an art form meant to shock and excite.
Start With One
From the start of his career, One has always been enchanted by the elaborate. Sari Yap, editor in chief of Mega, recalls One’s detail obsession when the latter joined and won the magazine’s competition for budding designers years ago. “Furne’s winning collection at the first Mega Young Designers Competition 16 years ago was an eight-piece resort-inspired line of handpainted, whimsical figures on cheesecloth,” she recalls. This acclaim led to an apprenticeship at the House of Christian Lacroix in Paris and at Josie Natori’s boutique in New York. In 1997, One decided to relocate to Dubai to show off his talent on a more global scale. Dubai was very receptive to the soft-spoken yet tenacious designer. His label, Amato, soon became one of the most anticipated collections in Dubai Fashion Week and One was also asked to design for renowned labels like Swarovski. In 2008, One’s penchant for shine grew even brighter when supermodel Heidi Klum selected him to design the gowns for all 18 models in the final round of her TV show‚ Germany’s Next Top Model. Klum’s sponsorship seeded One’s designs all throughout Germany and the rest of Europe, and called in assignments and projects from well-known European celebrities, including German actress Mariella Graefin von Faber-Castell, who asked One to provide the wardrobe for her critically acclaimed play, Jedermann. Soon more invites came: Miami Fashion Week, where he won the Designer’s Choice Award; LA Fashion Week; Berlin Fashion Week; and most recently, London Fashion Week, where he presented 20 of the same pieces he showed here in Manila last Saturday.
One’s vision hasn’t changed over the years, according to Yap. “It’s still the same Furne, only now he’s no longer the island boy from Cebu but an adult with mature technique who has lived with royalty and imbibed the centuries-old history of the Middle East.”
This maturity can be seen in the designer’s masterful craftsmanship and decisive technique. Generous though the beadwork may be, One positions his crystals in such a way that they still show off a woman’s curves and flatter her figure. He may use random fabrics such as fishnet but cuts them in a way that they still look sexy. And infinitely enticing.
The “Fall” Collection
The collective gasps from the audience, however, weren’t just for the designer’s impeccable creations. Halfway through the show, one model fell on her side just after making an entrance on