Kelsey
B.
Inspiration:
My inspiration for this prom dress was the flora and fauna of islands much more tropical then the one I live on. With travel currently stopped, I think the use of art can help capture the beauty and culture of different parts of the world, so we can still enjoy adventure from home. And with my dream vacation being to Hawaii, I thought it would be a beautiful place to base my dress off of.
5
Rolls
14
Hours
Lauren
S.
Inspiration:
Spring was a major influence on the artistic touches in the dress. I wanted to give a flowing cascade on the skirt as well as flower accents throughout the dress and the accessories to represent that. Also, I have been creating duct tape wallets since I was a little girl... you can literally see all my close friends and family sporting a custom wallet. To pay homage to this part of my life, I decided to do purple color scheme as this was my favorite color as a kid. And to represent me now, I picked a style that represented my ‘out there’ style with a fun layered skirt.
14
Rolls
63
Hours
Ansley
W.
Inspiration:
When designing my dress, I prioritized fit and form. Eventually, I settled on a mermaid style dress, taking a page out of the book of old hollywood glam, an inspiration of mine throughout the project. To account for the lack-of-stretch factor that duct tape creates, I fashioned a corset on the back of both the top and the skirt of the dress. It was difficult to size perfectly due to this, but I attribute the sleek look (and skin tight feel) of the dress to it, something that I'm proud of. In terms of smaller details, I used small silver circles (each of which I hand cut) to serve as rhinestones. There are 1283 circles over the entire dress, placed in geometric patterns. If you look closely, you can even spot eyes down the middle of the front of the dress, a motif referenced in modern fashion and my personal favorite part of the dress. Overall, I'm happy with the dramatic silhouette and detailing I was able to achieve, and had fun while doing it.
14
Rolls
65
Hours
Kaitlyn
W.
Inspiration:
I’ve been wanting to do this contest since elementary school, when I started doing duct tape crafts. When I began designing the dress, I wasn’t sure what I wanted. Green is my favorite color, so I knew that was going to be the main color. Rose is my middle name, and I have always loved them, so I thought that would be a good theme. I added some more detail with the gold vines. Finally, I added the small 3D flowers to give the dress some dimension. Even though we didn’t have a prom, I had a lot of fun making this dress.
13
Rolls
124
Hours
Emily
J.
Inspiration:
The pattern of the dress was inspired by the idea of a Phoenix, overcoming the bad and rising above, becoming something greater by being destroyed first. The design of the dress was inspired by powerful women warriors. Overall the dress was inspired by power and serenity.
16
Rolls
56
Hours
Jordan
P.
Inspiration:
I was inspired by 50s fashion as well as my love of plants and my passion for the environment. My family values environmentally-friendly practices, and in the last few years we've been composting our kitchen waste to develop our garden. We grow our own fruits and vegetables to cut down on plastic waste and support sustainable food production, and we've expanded our selection each year. Among our fruits and vegetables we also grow flowers and assorted plants, and those inspired the decorations on my dress. The shape of the dress itself is drawn from 50s fashion trends, with a full skirt, knee-length hemline, and high waist. I find that this shape flatters my body type and exudes an air of classic beauty.
5
Rolls
16
Hours
Jessica
S.
Inspiration:
I searched for an hour online on what design and style I wanted my dress to be. After a while I just went into my room and picked out my favorite dress I had. Later, my momma and I walked into the store not knowing what type of duct tape I was going to use to make the dress. I wanted to keep an open mind. When I got to the aisle with the duct tape I saw the flower design and I instantly fell in love with it. The flowers made me feel warm inside. Flowers remind me of my 2-year-old niece. We always call her “sweet petunia”. I chose a color that complimented the flowers, white. I picked out something that I would wear to my prom that I missed due to COVID-19. I thought my dress was simple and sweet like my baby niece.
3
Rolls
2
Hours
Alisha
M.
Inspiration:
I have loved creating things out of duct tape for years now, but this prom dress was definitely the biggest thing I have ever tackled. I love doing huge crazy projects, so I knew I had to do this competition when I first heard about it in eighth grade. I wanted my dress to be very elegant and to look as similar to an actual prom dress as possible. I chose purple and gold to be my main colors since they signify royalty and they compliment each other nicely. I wanted my dress to be unique, so I decided to have a gold slit which creates great contrast with the rest of my dress and makes the designs on it really stand out. I loved creating many accessories for this dress, especially the light and dark purple flowers. Making this dress was an amazing experience, and I’m so glad I did it.
11
Rolls
76
Hours
Sofia
M.
Inspiration:
I think that the colors, belt, and woven top were a bit subconsciously inspired by Wonder Woman, but I've always loved designing so when I found out about this contest I really just sketched the first design that came to mind and then tried to make it a reality.
14
Rolls
55
Hours
Paige
K.
Inspiration:
I was inspired by Ursula's silhouette and color scheme from the Little Mermaid, and the night sky, as well as 18th century ball gowns.
16
Rolls
25
Hours
Kyndahl
B.
Inspiration:
I was inspired by conservation. In order to make this dress, I collected all of my past duct tape rolls from my obsession of making duct tape wallets, bracelets, and purses.
6
Rolls
8
Hours
Ingrid
P.
Inspiration:
My inspiration was drawn from my culture and my passion for the arts. I was born and raised in Canada but my family is from South Korea so I thought I would find a way to combine the typical North American style of prom dress with a traditional Korean hanbok dress (worn on New Year’s Day). The base is a high to low peach and rose gold butterfly ruffle dress that can be worn on its own or with the Korean accessories! As for post-secondary I was accepted to Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and I am trying to make up the money for my tuition! My Duck Tape Brand prom dress is an appreciation for art and diversity ;)
18
Rolls
80
Hours
Ryan
B.
Inspiration:
My girlfriend was the inspiration. I just did whatever she told me to do.
10
Rolls
36
Hours
Erika
D.
Inspiration:
It's 2020 the Roaring 20's all over again. I have always liked the 1920s fashion. I created my own design with inspiration from vintage dresses. The art deco style was, straight lines at angles, geometric design, and scales patterns. I especially worked and played around with on how to make the fringe like an actual flapper dress. With the rise of the flapper girls came a new wave of feminist, this was impressive to me. They wanted to break societal rules and express themselves, this was something never seen before. I hope that I can be a light of empowerment for all. This confidence has led me to know who I am as a person, what I represent, and what I want to be. In the future, I aspire to be dentist. I want to give people the confidence I have to others through a great smile.
17
Rolls
20
Hours
Lilly
S.
Inspiration:
My design is classic and clean with a modern twist. I was inspired by a family vacation we took when I was eight years old in New York City. I fell in love with all the graffiti artwork along the railways.
16
Rolls
58
Hours
Emily
D.
Inspiration:
I live by a nature preserve that has a creek and many beautiful flowers, so I chose the colors to match the water and the flower petals. I based the style of the dress off of one I saw while I was prom dress shopping this year in order to achieve a whimsical look.
10
Rolls
20
Hours
Persia
W.
Inspiration:
My inspiration for this dress is my Mom's forever love of vintage elegance; also my love of Sass, Simplicity and Difference. Hopefully this has a bit of everything.
75
Rolls
80
Hours
alexia
p.
Inspiration:
My inspiration for this dress was the various Barbie Princess movies that I have watched countless times throughout my childhood. I have always dreamed of having a gown as magical as theirs for the longest time and I figured now is a better time than any to try and design my own. In total, I made over 100 duct tape roses to be dispersed all over my dress. I felt that including roses in multiple colors would enhance the overall effect that the dress gives. Also what princess doesn't like roses! I chose to use gold tape as an accent piece for my dress to show the elegance ball gowns have. I made the skirt blue because blue is a color that creates a sense of tranquility and confidence. It was important that the dress made me feel confident since it was a childhood dream of mine to be one of those princesses.
18
Rolls
79
Hours