Filipino fashion designer Bandoix Flores Nebria dies in Dubai

  DUBAI - Filipino fashion designer Bandoix Flores Nebria died on Saturday (September 1) from cardiac arrest, a source close to the couturier told expatmedia.net. Nebria died in a friend’s car as they were travelling in Ajman, the source said. Nebria was in his 50s. “A policeman tried reviving him on the road. But he was declared dead on arrival at a hospital in Ajman,” the source said. His body is currently being kept at a hospital morgue in the emirate. Nebria is survived by a brother and sister who are based in the UAE. His close friends held a prayer vigil for him at his friend’s house on Saturday evening.

‘He just came back to say goodbye’

The couturier, who was always spotted in an all-black ensemble, had moved back to Manila close to his hometown of Laguna just last year after spending years in Dubai’s fashion industry. “All his friends are here.. his heart is here in Dubai. So two weeks ago he visited Dubai and he was very happy. It was as if he just came back to say goodbye. He died here where his heart is,” the source told expatmedia.net. Nebria was a close friend of Dubai’s celebrity designers Ezra Santos and Michael Cinco, whose birthday celebration he attended last week.

Funeral plans

The late designer, who was fondly called Miss B by friends and fans, had said fashion is his life, and had even shared how he wanted his funeral arranged. "Planado na nga na pag namatay ako (When I die, I have it planned that), everyone who wants to attend my mourning must be wearing black or else they won't get a pass to see my urn jar," he told Illustrado magazine in a 2016 interview. His last media interview was in February at a fashion event in Manila where he shared his thoughts about life. "Accept everything about yourself. I mean everything. You are you, and that is the beginning and the end. No apologies, no regrets. I never regret anything anyway. Every little detail of your life is what made you into who you are at the end. Live with no excuses and love with no regrets," he told Business Mirror.

Condolences pour in

Messages of condolence poured in for Nebria from the Filipino community in the UAE, with some calling him a fashion icon they will never forget. Michael Cinco was among the first to share his grief in a Facebook post, saying, “My best friend, Bandoix. I love you… I will miss you.” 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