Raven
G.
Inspiration:
My inspiration was my passion for activism, leadership, and my culture. I wanted my outfit to bring awareness to racial issues along with expressing all the good things about my culture. I also wanted to encourage others to express what makes them great and to utilize their voices for change!
9
Rolls
63
Hours
Taylia
S.
Inspiration:
The inspiration and process of making this dress were somewhat life-changing. As a Class of 2020 Senior, this year has brought many challenges. It has been very difficult to cope sometimes with everything going on in the world right now. From losing job hours, valuable time as a senior in high school with friends, classmates, and teachers due to a pandemic. But now people of many races and nationalities like myself, fighting for freedom and equality. The struggle in making this dress was to find the bright side of the darkness. This is why I chose to make the dress black. It represents the dark times that the world is going through this year. To bring out the bright side of things, I chose to make colorful flowers growing from the darkness. This is to represent hope for the world we live in. All my jewelry, purse, and corsage are made 100% out of Duct Tape. Heels were decorated with Duct Tape. Although my original plans were to skip my senior prom, this dress makes me wish I could’ve worn it there.
17
Rolls
74
Hours
Emily
C.
Inspiration:
The creation of this dress was most prominently inspired by my desire to celebrate prom - despite not being able to attend due to Covid-19. I grew up with older female cousins as my role models, and from a young age was mystified and excited about the coming of age ceremony that was "Senior Prom." When my prom was cancelled I was truly disheartened, but glad that I found a way to still celebrate prom in style. Through this program I got to not only make my own dress hand tailored to my style and comforts, but also have a really fun prom-like photoshoot with the help of a friend. The dress itself was inspired by my previous 2019 prom dress, my personal tastes, and some elegant Red Carpet looks (by Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, Yara Shahidi and others).
16
Rolls
46
Hours
Emily
F.
Inspiration:
Every year I go to the Cherry Blossom festival and adore the beautiful sakura blossoms. Sadly, this year, the festival was cancelled. But I continued to envision the alluring pink clusters of sakura flowers and its petals glistening high up in the sky
17
Rolls
70
Hours
Isabella
I.
Inspiration:
As a child, I was always fascinated by the coral reefs and tropical fish that I would read about in my children’s encyclopedias. It was actually the vivid illustrations that would often accompany the text in these books that inspired me to create this dress! I thought that through an homage to these illustrations, I could create a whimsical and playful dress that would make for an unconventional prom outfit. By using clear tape, I created an overskirt that would mimic the transparency of water and I hand-cut decorations in a variety of duck tape colours to form the coral reef. While this dress was definitely a challenge, I had a lot of fun combining my passion for crafting and my interest in visual illustration and design.
21
Rolls
160
Hours
Shyla
O.
Inspiration:
What does it look like to live? To answer that vital question, I designed this prom look! The flowers and vines were made to demonstrate the life in nature surrounding us and how we strive to grow and live as them, blooming. The stripes of colors on the top and other areas were to enhance the strikingly beautiful image of freedom and growth. The ukulele incorporated in this look symbolizes how music and sound can set one free and unify many souls in freedom. Puzzled shapes on the shoes and other areas were placed to articulate the striking and radiant aspect of being able to live. On the second layer in the front of the dress and the backside of the ukulele, I illustrated flowers with gold shining droplets. Moreover, I desired for the golden droplets to signify how water is like gold to these flowers and is needed for growth. I wanted the flowers to appear as if they are joyful and reaching their sacred hydration. Additionally, I matched my makeup to my look. Yes, every piece of jewelry is also made from Duck Tape! The headpiece and parts of the overall design were also inspired by my South Indian culture; the intricate designs and the two-piece outfits in my culture flooded me with many ideas.
I used Duck Tape Mirror and Glitter colors as well!! I hope my prom look brings a little reminder of life to you:)
18
Rolls
56
Hours
Riley
M.
Inspiration:
The world needs to change. People from all different walks of life make a positive impact on our communities on a daily basis. As a society, we should challenge our perceptions about the people who look and think differently from us. Diversity is a gift.
13
Rolls
45
Hours
Rachel
W.
Inspiration:
Growing up I have always loved the magic of fairy tales. I find beauty in simplicity and elegance, and I have never been someone to wear anything over the top. That being said, Prom night is your night to feel like a princess going to the ball, so with a Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo! I conjured an elegant dress with a whimsical floral design to have my moment at the ball. I made flowers of all kinds, shapes and sizes, and added it to my sleek blue Cinderella dress. This experience through creating and quarantine has taught me so much but Cinderella says it best, “they can’t order me to stop dreaming.”
7
Rolls
18
Hours
Ellie
S.
Inspiration:
I don’t like wearing dresses so I wanted it to be simple so I could move around in it. I also love nature so I added the flowers.
18
Rolls
42
Hours
Lindsey
P.
Inspiration:
Growing up in Minnesota, I am no stranger to cold winters. I have always loved seeing the intricate frost patterns on plants and windows in the morning, which inspired me to make this dress. I used ice crystals and frosty roses against a dark blue background to highlight the beauty of different frozen forms of water.
16
Rolls
65
Hours
Madison
S.
Inspiration:
This dress is inspired by the celebration of outward expression that formal wear provides. I am currently working as a sales associate at a formal dress store. Through my job, I have watched many faces light up and I have experienced many people's day being made just by a dress. The power of a flattering and vibrant dress lasts forever within someone's photos that hang in homes and float social media. I wanted to capture this feeling of empowerment in my own Duck Tape dress. Prom is designed to be a night of fun where you can express yourself in any way you chose. I believe that the dress I have created is an extension of myself and my personal style. The floral details and pastel colors are something I enjoy and am confident wearing. I feel as though the simple silhouette and meticulous detail balance each other out to create a classic prom dress look. This dress definitely achieved my goal of recreating how my clients feel when they find the perfect dress.
13
Rolls
26
Hours
Zoie
P.
Inspiration:
Due to the global pandemic of Covid-19, my, along, with others, Senior Prom got cancelled. Because of this early unexpected entry into adulthood without the traditional high school experiences and the suffocating feeling of being tossed into college, especially financially, without any experience prompted me to take that void of not traditionally graduating and walking across the stage, but hearing my name being called on my TV through a virtual graduation instead caused me to want to create the experience I will never get back, my Senior Prom. My favorite color is purple hence the purple prom dress along with the galaxy-like print on the top of the two piece dress. I throughly enjoyed creating this prom dress, because it sort of made my high school experience whole again.
14
Rolls
20
Hours
Ryker
R.
Inspiration:
I wanted to make this a mermaid styled mermaid themed dress. The colors are reminiscent of the swirling sea and its depths. This scaly creation could not be complete without "seaweed" wrapping around the arm to help form a corsage. My favorite part was the big flower, because I layered tape onto paper and folded it into origami. The ocean and its endless beauty helped to choose the colors and make this outfit.
13
Rolls
37
Hours
lillian
r.
Inspiration:
My inspiration for this outfit was Frida Kahlo. As a mexican artist she always incorporated her culture into her paintings, as well as pieces of herself into her portraits. I was inspired by her unapologetic way of life, and how she expressed herself through her paintings, her culture, and as a woman. I used the butterflies on the dress to symbolize migration, as her works migrated and inspired people from Mexico to North America. The flowers are also a symbol of natural beauty and growth, which Frida often conveyed in her portraits.
As an aspiring art teacher, as well as woman, Frida inspires me as a woman nd artist with the beauty and emotion she relays in her paintings.
10
Rolls
15
Hours
Grace
W.
Inspiration:
I have always loved animation and cartoons, even as a little girl. I love the worlds that are built through the medium. And when I watched Disney's The Princess and the Frog, I fell in love with Disney's portrayal of the bayou. The beautiful foamy greens, and low hanging leaves of the trees of the bayou begged for something fantastical to swim through its waters, and I knew that it had to be a mermaid. I loved making this dress. I loved making all of the little details that enhanced the design, the lily pads, water lilies, and of course, a baby crocodile. What can I say? I'm a simple girl who enjoys the little things in life and one of those things just happens to be baby crocodiles. I was accepted at UW-Stevens Point to pursue my dream of having an art career and this competition can help continue my dream of telling stories. Wonderful scholarships like these allow students to flex their creative muscles and create something truly unique. So, here I stand as a Louisiana version of Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, my dress, "The Bayou Mermaid."
14
Rolls
1,460
Hours
Melissa
F.
Inspiration:
My dress was inspired by the beautiful monarch butterfly. Ever since I was little I have loved butterflies especially monarchs. I'm sure many people can remember growing butterflies from caterpillars in elementary and looking at their beautiful wings. I hope that my dress has encapsulated the beauty of the magnificent monarch butterfly.
10
Rolls
60
Hours
Christina
P.
Inspiration:
My dress was inspired by the French architecture and antique designs of the Palace of Versailles. I have always been fascinated by the meticulous detail of the interior of the castle, so I thought that the use of Duck Tape would give me the opportunity to incorporate this style of design into an outfit. These details, when paired with the pale green of the base color tape, give the dress a sense of elegance and royalty, while the small, white flowers bring out the more youthful, whimsical aspects of it.
15
Rolls
64
Hours
Jenna
F.
Inspiration:
The Galaxy/sky was the inspiration for my dress. I have a really good memory of my dad and I laying out on the grass and just enjoying the beauty of the sky and stars. Which is something that you are unable to see in a city.
7
Rolls
40
Hours
