Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

The 11th Annual Miami Fashion Week (MFW) was held last March 19-22,2009 in Miami Florida. More than 10,000 designers, buyers, models, celebrities, VIPs, fashion aficionados and fashion media from around the world took part in what they said was the most globally diverse Miami Fashion Week ever. During the past eleven years, MFW has evolved into one of the world’s premier fashion events spotlighting designers from Europe, USA and Canada , the Caribbean, Middle East and Asia as well as the largest showcase of Latin American design talent in the world. The star-studded event featured personal appearances by 60 designers from all four corners of the globe. And among the handful of designers who took home the coveted Miami Moda and Music Awards was Filipino designer Furne Oné who received the Designer Choice Award.

A Cebuano who has been based in Dubai for more than 10 years now, Furne (short for Fernando) One studied Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of San Carlos in Cebu, Philippines .

While in Los Angeles after the Miami Fashion Week, Furne Oné graciously accepted the invitation from Asian Journal for an exclusive interview, before he goes back to Dubai . "It was my first time to join the Miami Fashion Week. You see, you can’t just come and join the competition. You have to be invited," Furne explained to Asian Journal. "But the organizers of the event went to Dubai and attended the Dubai Fashion Fiesta where I participated. They liked my collection and invited me to join the MFW. And I’m so happy I did," said Furne who never expected to come home with the Designer’s Choice Award. Furne’s collections turned out to be the most anticipated show in the competition and the judges found Furne’s collections "original and nice".

Describing his 39-piece collection, Furne said, "It is a fusion of styles from the East and the West. The clothes are fun, flirty, very ready-to-wear for parties. The gowns are lacy and adorned with colorful Swarovski jewels which reflect the vibrancy of the city of Miami ."

A favorite designer of the rich and famous in Dubai and surrounding Arabic cities, Furne One revealed that he started to entertain the idea of designing clothes when he was ten years old. "My grandmother and mother were both fashionistas. They loved to wear beautiful clothes. Looking at them, I would sketch designs and I kept sketching as I grew older. Unfortunately, when I went to college in Cebu , there was no course on Fashion Design yet. So I took up Fine Arts," he recalled.

In 1994, Furne joined the 1st Mega Magazine Young Designers Competition and he got the top prize. The judges were big names in the global fashion industry like Filipina fashion designer Josie Natori, CEO and founder of New York-based The Natori Company, and Stephen Gan, co-founder of the fashion and art magazine,Visionaire.

The prize was a trip to Paris where Furne trained for a while. Then, Josie Natori invited Furne to New York where he worked as an apprentice in The Natori Company.

Upon his return to Cebu , Furne joined another fashion competition, sponsored by the government, where he once again got the top prize – a trip to Japan . While in Japan , Furne’s collections won for him the coveted Japan ’s Women’s Wear Award.

After his stint in Japan , Furne knew he wanted to be based abroad. The question was where. "I initially thought of New York since I’ve been there. Then, a friend suggested Dubai . I thought hard about it and realized that in Paris and in New York , there are many good fashion designers and the competition was going to be tough. So, I tried out Dubai. And I liked it there. It’s a melting pot of races; in fact, there are more expats there than locals – lots of Europeans. It’s also an open city; not as strict as other Arabic cities," shared Furne.

In Dubai , Furne started working for a company, designing and making clothes for wealthy Arabic women who love going to parties and weddings. After a few years, he was able to establish a loyal circle of clientele which encouraged him to move on with a fashion house of his own. "I wanted to concentrate on designing so I partnered with someone who will take care of the management/business side. And that’s Rashid Ali. His company was one of my suppliers for fabrics," said Furne.