The Unstoppable Flight of Furne One Amato

Dubai-based Filipino fashion designer Furne One Amato opens up about his 30th anniversary collection and how his vision continues to soar toward new horizons.

Words Jaymar Aquino
Photos courtesy of Furne One Amato
January 14, 2026

In a hall where light fractured into shards, the runway became a nest. Models, painted with sharp contours to mimic the curvature of beaks, circled in three tiers, tracing migratory paths in motion. Black and red fabrics—reflecting the sacred hues of Mindanao’s T’boli tribe—shimmered like obsidian and blood, while tri-colored T’nalak cloth rippled like wind through feathers. Birds of Prey, the 30th-anniversary collection of Furne One Amato, was more than couture; it was a cathartic return, a flight into memory and myth by the renowned Filipino fashion designer.

The first wingbeat

His story began in Cebu, where ambition spread its wings early. In 1994, he won the inaugural MEGA Young Designers Competition, catching the discerning eye of Filipino-American fashion titan Josie Natori and leading to an apprenticeship in New York. By the late ’90s, he had relocated to Dubai—a city of extremes and opportunity. There, in 2002, he founded AMATO Couture, a house that quickly became synonymous with avant-garde elegance, fearless reinvention, and meticulous craftsmanship.

“I’ve always been drawn to the unfamiliar. Avant-garde gave me the freedom to create without boundaries. It wasn’t a conscious decision to make it my signature. It was simply the most honest way I could express myself,” he reflects.

Philosophy in flight

For the designer, the world hums with inspiration—from the sweep of architecture to the whisper of the wild. “Art itself shapes my vision. Whether it is film, or nature, I’m fascinated by transformation and how form and structure can tell a story. That has always guided the way I design,” he says. Every piece becomes a study in metamorphosis, where embroidery, texture, and silhouette are silent storytellers.

Amato notes that beyond crafting garments that narrate stories, survival in fashion requires perpetual reinvention. When asked about his greatest inspirations, he withholds specific names, instead pointing to a broader group of artists who dare to dismantle form only to reconstruct it anew.

“What ties them together is their fearless pursuit of the unknown, their ability to break form and rebuild it into something new. Their work reminds me that innovation is born from risk, and reinvention is where beauty often reveals itself.” His latest collection stands as the visual manifesto of that ethos.

“Birds of Prey was about strength and survival. It reflected the battles, the triumphs, and the resilience that shaped my 30 years in fashion. It was my way of saying that even in struggle, beauty can soar,” Amato explains. Each pleat, each layered fold was sculpted into a soaring statement—strategic, architectural, refreshingly new.

Beyond the runway

True to his instinct for reinvention, Amato’s creativity has extended beyond the atelier. With AMATO Home and Café in Cebu, he has built a nest where couture expands into lifestyle. Guests perch amid rattan furniture crafted by local artisans, sip coffee beneath the gleam of couture displays, and take home essentials designed with the same meticulous artistry as his gowns. It is both café and concept store, a living installation where design breathes in everyday rituals.

“Amato Home was born from the same desire as my fashion, to create experiences. Clothes live on the body, but design can also live in the spaces we inhabit. I wanted to bring that same artistry into people's homes,” he shares. For him, this evolution is no detour—it is flight extended, proof that vision, like wings, is meant to stretch beyond one horizon.

Endurance as art

To witness the work of the Filipino designer is to see endurance take flight as its own quiet radicalism. In an industry where trends molt and fads soar and fall, he has remained both celebrated and audacious for 30 years. “The achievement I hold closest is longevity. To survive and stay relevant in an industry that moves so quickly, that for me is the real victory,” he shares.

His portfolio speaks with the authority of wings that have weathered countless skies. After three decades in fashion, it is almost expected that his creations would have graced the world’s most dazzling stages—yet in Furne’s case, the list reads like a constellation of popstars. From Beyoncé and Katy Perry to Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, and Nicki Minaj, to name only a handful among many, global icons have turned to his couture to amplify their performances and red-carpet appearances. Closer to home, Asia’s Popstar Royalty Sarah Geronimo embodied his vision during her Dubai concert, shifting between three AMATO creations: one richly voluminous, another feather-kissed, and a crystal-studded finale that shimmered like flight caught in light.

But acclaim has never been his landing point. Awards, celebrity clients, international recognition—these are milestones, never final destinations. “I want to keep breaking boundaries, perhaps in film, digital fashion, or more lifestyle concepts. I’m curious about how technology and artistry can merge in ways we have not fully seen yet.” His gaze remains fixed firmly on the horizon.

Legacy of fearlessness

Asked how he hopes his legacy will be remembered, the visionary designer is unequivocal: “That I created fearlessly. That I gave people permission to be bold, to embrace the extraordinary, and to see fashion as more than clothing, but as an art form.” His collections are precisely that: art that moves, art that inspires, art that endures.

From Cebu’s modest studios to Dubai’s grand stages, Furne One Amato’s trajectory is extraordinary, yet instructive. The precision of his construction mirrors a life lived with intention and daring. His legacy lies not only in gowns but in the courage he extends to those who wear them—for a designer to step beyond trends, for a woman to embody her inner power without hesitation.

He has achieved much: international acclaim, collaborations with superstars, features on global platforms, and a couture house that has become a beacon of daring elegance. And still, there is no finality. The runway, the studio, and now even the café remain open skies for exploration.

Final ascent

In the end, Furne One Amato’s story is one of relentless curiosity and fearless artistry—a flight against gravity. Birds of Prey reminds us that survival is not mere endurance; it is choreography, a dance of power and beauty. Boldness is timeless. Creativity is boundless. And for Amato, the sky is never the limit.