Michael David Kuluva (born May 6, 1983) is an American fashion designer and founder of the New York fashion week label Tumbler and Tipsy. He resides in Los Angeles, California. In 2012, Kuluva collaborated with a video game software company, Ubisoft to design high end garments for the New York Fashion Week Spring 2013 runway.
Early life
Kuluva was born in Montana and raised in Los Angeles, California. His parents, Randy and Carol, are both attorneys in California. Kuluva had a passion for competitive figure skating which led him into the world of fashion. Kuluva attended Sierra Canyon School and graduated with honors from Montclair College Preparatory School in 2001. Kuluva forwent college after graduating high school at that time to pursue his professional figure skating career.
Kuluva's maternal grandfather is Roy Walter McClean of the Walt Disney Company. Roy W. McClean was the President of Retlaw Enterprises, also known as WDI and WED, Walt Disney's private company. McClean was employed with the Walt Disney Company from 1956 through 1988, when he retired. McClean passed away on April 7, 2005.
Figure skating career
Kuluva competed in amateur U.S. Figure Skating, from 1989 through 2001, reaching the national and international level before moving into professional figure skating. Kuluva toured with Holiday On Ice as himself and Disney on Ice as the principal performer in their Disney/Pixar's The Incredible's in a Magic Kingdom Adventure production by portraying the main role of Dash Parr. Kuluva continued to portray the role of Dash Parr with Disney On Ice in 2005 for syndicated United States national television shows including Good Morning America, Live! with Kelly and Michael and The Today Show. Kuluva was also featured as himself in the Sony Motion Picture, "The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold" in 2006.
Fashion design career
Kuluva started designing in 2009 and retired from the sport of figure skating to begin schooling at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. Kuluva started his fashion label Tumbler and Tipsy while attending FIDM and was asked to be a part of Los Angeles Fashion Week as an emerging designer. In September 2012, Kuluva graduated from FIDM with a degree in fashion design and presented his Spring 2013 collection at New York Fashion Week. For Kuluva's debut fashion show in New York City, he partnered with Ubisoft to design collaborative garments inspired by the video game Just Dance 4 that were then shown on the runway by celebrities such as Kendall Jenner and Olympic Gold Medalist Alex Morgan.
For Kuluva's sophomore New York Fashion Week show in February 2013, Kuluva presented his Fall 2013 collection of plaid tweed garments which were inspired by the 1990s grunge movement while also staying true to the brands signature sequin look. Kuluva also maintained his outlook on today's Popular Culture by having Rick Genest "Zombie Boy" walk his runway alongside U.S. Figure Skating's three time senior men's national champion and 2010 Winter Olympics competitor, Johnny Weir. Kuluva developed partnerships with the Conair Corporation for their release of the "Infiniti by Conair" collection and with the luxury audio company Harman Kardon, as they released their new audio headphones during the New York Fashion Week show. Kuluva was asked to present his Fall 2013 collection two more times on the runway during Los Angeles Fashion Week.
For the Tumbler and Tipsy Spring/Summer 2014 fashion season, Kuluva designed a collection entitled "So Next Level" which was inspired by then-popular fashion culture plus the future of "party themed" fashions. For the New York Fashion Week runway show, Neon Hitch opened the show with a live harpist on stage performing her single, "Love U Betta", while also wearing the collaborative "Out of the Closet Hanger Gown" designed for AIDS Healthcare Foundation who presented this seasons runway show. The Tumbler and Tipsy runway show continued with models coming down the "T & T" catwalk including Perez Hilton, Brielle Biermann, Yasmine Petty and Johnny Weir. This season also had exclusive partners including Swarovski Austrian Crystals, Caviar Frames and Flips Audio Headphones.