Mariah Carey champions Dubai designer

DUBAI: Mariah Carey stepped out in a gorgeous gown by Dubai-based designer Furne One, founder of Amato Couture, as crowds gathered at Burj Park on Sunday night to mark the one-year countdown to Expo 2020.

Carey sparkled in a full-length studded dress featuring intricate patterns and Swarovski crystals. She has been spotted in one of Amato Couture’s gowns before, at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year when she wore a black sequinned number.

One is a couturier from the Philippines and his dresses are a hit with some of the biggest female celebrities in the worlds including Shakira, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj.

“I started sketching dresses at around 10 years old and continued until I went to college,” the designer told Arab News. “As a boy, I would keep everything to myself and spend most of my time alone with my imagination, sketching away dresses. As I grew older, I became a little rebellious. In time, I grew out of that phase and started focusing on my career and become a successful designer.”

His big break came when he won a major fashion design competition in 1994 that was judged by a famous Filipino-US designer Josie Natori. “The moment it happened, she took me under her wing and brought me to Paris and New York to work for her as an apprentice because she saw potential in me.”

He won first prize at Japan’s Women Wear Awards that same year and, three years later, stood out as a finalist at Manila’s Fashion Design Awards.

Carey, who is 49, sang some of her greatest hits songs including “Emotion” and “We Belong Together” to an enthusiastic audience who braved the heat and humidity of the outdoor venue.

Expo 2020, which runs for six months and begins next October, is to be held at a vast new site in the south of Dubai. Organizers are expecting around 25 million visitors.