TOFA honoree David Tupaz, a Filipino American couture designer known for his Old Hollywood aesthetic, is serving as executive director and curator of the Filipino American Museum of Las Vegas, located at the Boulevard Mall in the city’s Filipino Town cultural district.
The museum, one of only two brick-and-mortar institutions in the United States dedicated specifically to Filipino American history and culture, features exhibits on immigration, heritage and the contributions of Filipino Americans in Southern Nevada. As curator, Tupaz has helped shape the galleries, contributing pieces from his own collection and overseeing installations such as the Ifugao Collection, which showcases Indigenous artistry and traditions from northern Luzon.
Tupaz’s role at the museum builds on his long career in fashion. Born in Quezon City, Philippines, he is a self-taught designer who shifted from music to fashion after early work in New York and Los Angeles. Now based in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, he is often cited as the only established couture designer in Nevada, representing Las Vegas at major shows and regularly presenting collections at fashion weeks in Los Angeles, New York and other U.S. cities.
His signature style draws on classic cinema, with tailored silhouettes, romantic lines and black-and-white palettes that evoke Old Hollywood. Throughout his career, he has dressed celebrities, social figures and clients around the world, helping bring Filipino talent onto high-profile red carpets.
In 2015, he was named International Designer of the Year by Metropolitan Fashion Week. He also founded a Las Vegas fashion council that mentors young designers and students who lack access to formal fashion education, and serves as creative director of the fashion and art magazine Chic Compass.
Tupaz received The Outstanding Filipino award in 2021 in the fashion and arts category during a gala at Carnegie Hall in New York, marking TOFA’s return to an in-person ceremony after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was held under strict health protocols, including masking and vaccination requirements. Today, Tupaz divides his time between designing, mentoring and preserving culture, using both the runway and the museum floor to showcase Filipino creativity and history.
