The UAE has been a fertile breeding ground for Filipino creativity and ingenuity in the field of fashion. Michael Cinco, Furne One and Ezra Santos are just some of the most successful names in the industry – icons who have served as inspiration and set the trail ablaze for a new generation of talents.

A young and promising fashion designer is making big strides as he follows in the footsteps of his more illustrious peers. Harvey Cenit, 31, is making his mark in the fashion scene with his wedding gown creations that cater to royalties in the region.

After honing his skills for eight years in Cebu, Philippines, Cenit brought his wares to the UAE almost six years ago. 

“[I came here] basically to venture into new things, to learn new things, to learn new cultures,” Cenit tells Gulf News #Pinoy. He says the UAE has been the perfect place for aspiring fashion professionals to further sharpen their skills and find more lucrative opportunities.

“Here in UAE, couture is really a big thing,” he says. “Here you can really learn things that you cannot learn from our place.”

Cenit is now the head designer and creative director at Al Aroosa Aniqah, where he has been designing mainly bridal outfits.

“Here in Dubai, in Sharjah, in the UAE, wedding gowns are really one of the best markets for couture, for couturiers,” says Cenit. “On the business side, there's a lot of money in weddings. Arab people spend money for wedding gowns – for anything beautiful. So, that's why wedding gowns are really one of the big markets here in the UAE.”

Cenit, who earned a degree in Fine Arts major in Visual Arts from the University of the Philippines, Cebu, says his fervent desire to create works of art has been a driving force in the fiercely competitive fashion establishment.

“My background is visual arts, but my passion is really fashion designing. It's quite cliché, but my passion is fashion,”

His venture in the UAE, though, has also been a big adjustment.

“Back in the Philippines, I used to design wedding gowns that were very simple, very elegant, very Western,” he says. “Here in the UAE, it's a new thing. Wedding gowns are very extravagant, very couture, very detailed, fully beaded dresses, so it’s quite different from ours.”

He adds: “The brides here have three sets of weddings – they start with the engagement, then the henna party and the third one is the white dress, which is exclusive for all women. Ours is more Western, more elegant. We kind of adopt the Western cultures and there's a lot of theme – beach wedding, garden wedding.”

Cenit says one of the advantages of working in the UAE is that it opens opportunities to work for some of the more exclusive brands or even to design for big-time celebrities.

For exposure, we are quite near to Western countries and European countries. You know Cinco is Hollywood designer already, and there is also Amato and Santos. That's the advantage I guess,” he says.

He reveals more in this Q&A with #Pinoy:

On his inspirations

I get it from movies and music. I listen to Lana Del Ray's music and then I can imagine what she's wearing; that's the time I'll start sketching. From the movies, I love the dresses from the movie the  Crimson Peak and I love Audrey Hepburn movies. 

I love the elegant silhouette and I love the detailed things in the dress. I used to combine colours, the weird colours – not the typical combination of colours, that's my thing. So I am both wearable and artistic.

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