Harrison
C.
Inspiration:
The inspiration for my tuxedo was the melding of the Roaring 1920s, and our young, but already quite eventful 2020. My tuxedo utilizes many patterns and textures which consisted of 13 different Duck Tape designs and 18 rolls of Duck Tape. The leopard print and roaring tiger represent the ‘Roaring’ 20s, and also add a more modern flair. The pocket watch was a popular accessory in the 1920s, however, my inspiration was based on a very modern luxury watch from a current high-end designer.
There are many parallels between the 20s of the previous century, and the world we live in today. Immigration was under scrutiny in the 1920s, and racism was escalating. While many believe we have come so far in the past century, we have proven we have a long way to go. I am hopeful that the devastating events of 2020 will result in a time of deep reflection and monumental change. I am optimistic this will be the best ‘Duck-ade’ yet.
18
Rolls
20
Hours
Jess
V.
Inspiration:
I have never sewn a dress before, much less one made from duct tape. So, when I came across this incredibly creative and challenging competition, I was excited to get started. I have recently been infatuated with the many styles and designs the world is presented with every year at the Met Gala. The history of not only the designer’s but the incredible art within the museum, is what sparked my design. I wanted to incorporate many different mediums of texture and intricate shapes. The duct tape allowed me to do this in a way that regular fabric would not. As well as the addition of the mirror and prism tape, alongside small gemstones, allowed me to create the appearance of sparkling embroidery. The dress harmonizes geometric patterns and sharp edges with soft femininity. I wanted to create something that upheld elegance while not sacrificing bold and eye-catching ascetics throughout.
11
Rolls
111
Hours
Kiarra
D.
Inspiration:
My inspiration was butterflies. Butterflies symbolizes life. I used butterflies to enhance the skirt and make it stand out. Butterflies are beautiful insects that come in many colors. I choose the colors red and black, because red represents strength and determination and black represents power and elegance. Strength, determination, power, and elegance are all qualities that we use in our life. These qualities help us move forward in our own paths and succeed.
10
Rolls
36
Hours
Monserrath
G.
Inspiration:
I was thinking of my prom and how I wasn’t going to go because of the pandemic. When I saw this scholarship, I designed a dress that would make me feel like a princess at prom. Towards the end, the shape of the dress did give me 1940’s vibes with modern colors, so that was a nice twist of events.
4
Rolls
80
Hours
Teagan
W.
Inspiration:
I love to learn to new crafts and skills, so the inspiration for my dress came from many hours of looking at dresses and trying to learn how to make them. This contest was the perfect opportunity to challenge myself with something that I had never made before. I decided to make a dress that would push the limits of what I could do with dress making. Making the dress out of duct tape was just an extra opportunity to push myself to create something I am proud of!
13
Rolls
40
Hours
Emmalie
F.
Inspiration:
I was intrigued by the process of making something fantastic out of something every-day like duct tape. Connecting these two aspects, I could create something out of the ordinary. And who doesn’t want to be a fairytale princess?
21
Rolls
67
Hours
Laura
G.
Inspiration:
Orange and blue has always hands down been my favorite complementary color pair, always creating the most fluorescent pop in the evening sky. That’s when it hit me; as an artist who loves to create and paint, my inspiration was the gradient of the sky and the marriage of two starkly different colors.
10
Rolls
50
Hours
Jaqueline
L.
Inspiration:
My dress was inspired by the color scheme I used, that led to me creating stencils and it just progressed as I made it.
8
Rolls
80
Hours
Emily
D.
Inspiration:
The inspiration for this dress came from my parents. They really liked the original design for my dress and they were very excited throughout this whole process. Red is the main color for the dress because it is one of the colors of my high school which is also the school my dad attended. The flowers around the bottom are because my mom loves flowers. Every year we get a lot of flowers and I help my mom plant them around the yard. My parents inspire me to do a lot of great things. They even encouraged me to participate in this contest!
24
Rolls
52
Hours
Jacob
M.
Inspiration:
My inspiration for my Duck Tape tuxedo was all of the uncertainty and chaos going on in America right now. The Betsy Ross flag represents the origin of what the flag stands for and what the forefathers of this great nation fought for. The “United We Stand” quote on the back represents the inequality in the United States and that we can only solve the issues of America by bonding together with one another regardless of race. If I win this contest, I will use the money to further my education and dreams of building my own business. I would never have been able to do this without my mom.
10
Rolls
10
Hours
Saumya
M.
Inspiration:
The inspiration for my outfit was from different sources. Due to the corona virus pandemic, and the quarantine that kept so many inside, many people were not able to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Spring weather reminds everyone of blooming flowers and I believe that fluttering butterflies are a good symbol of spring weather. For this reason, I decided to create a dress highlighting butterflies to commemorate the spring season that many have missed enjoying this year. For the style of my dress, I was inspired by different cultures. The frills in my dress were inspired by the extensive frills and ruffles is Spanish fashion. I have an Indian background and wanted to incorporate a part of my culture into this dress as well. Therefore, the back of my dress was inspired by backless blouses on cultural Indian dresses such as lehengas. Overall, the style of my dress was inspired by different cultures while the design of my dress was inspired by butterflies and how they symbolize the spring season that many have not been able to enjoy due to this pandemic.
10
Rolls
42
Hours
Callan
R.
Inspiration:
Note: if we are selected to receive this scholarship, we ask that it be split between the two of us equally
Given the recent event that has been in the news and affecting billions worldwide, we thought it best to show our support for the blm movement and in our own way express that we stand in solidarity with their cause. We come from a predominantly white school in the midwest, and we can say that even before the events that occurred last week transpired, we've always been ashamed by how un-diverse our school and community has been, and due to this, how ignorant it has made us to the outside world, along with the struggle that those of color face their entire lifetime. It's been as we've gotten older that we've begun to understand why it is that our community has been so white (redlining, expensive housing, persons who do hold prejudice against minorities), and we are utterly disgusted by these actions. The dress that we have made is full of symbolism (ie the placing of the colored triangles and count represent both how society views its people and also who is most affected by police brutality, and the overlap represents the tendency of society to look down on minorities and overlook their needs and worth; the meaning for the common blm symbol on a white tank represents that young whites stand in solidarity with the movement and want racism to be no more, and the mask, of course, represents our concern for safety during COVID-19 and that we do hope and wish that peace can find some physical meaning during our lifetime), but despite our ideas, we leave this dress up to the beholder interpretation and opinion. We hope to actually see if we can sell/donate this dress in order to better help support the blm movement, but overall we hope it can represent a change that desperately needs to be dealt immediately, and hopefully, this will help spur the biggest 180 a year has ever seen, and perhaps we could solve racism within the year. We can only hope.
5
Rolls
12
Hours
Nicole
M.
Inspiration:
The inspiration for my dress was this years prom theme at my school, 'Around the World'. Different areas of the venue would represent a different part of the world. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 my school prom got cancelled. Luckily I was still able to bring mt country to you. My dress represents the country of Colombia. As this is my ethnicity I wanted to incorporate different aspects that would represent it. Mainly using yellow, blue, and red to symbolize the colors of the flag.
8
Rolls
26
Hours
Christian
D.
Inspiration:
The inspiration for my prom suit came from both warrior armor and Italian and Turkish design elements. I wanted to incorporate a prom design that was stylish, yet it still incorporated ideas authentic to myself and representative of an empowering message. My suit ties together three themes. The eagle elements such as the eyes on the jacket and the wings symbolize myself as an overachiever as I try to soar higher and higher to my full potential. Warrior elements such as the dagger, shoulder pads, and the longer-length jacket symbolize my fight as I have had to overcome many challenges life has thrown at me. Also, my color pallet choice of black, silver, and white symbolize the light I possess within myself; I thrive to let it illuminate in a world that is constantly corrupted by darkness. Overall, it took about 12 rolls of tape and a little over a week for me to complete my design. I am very proud of the way my design came out as it is a representation of my heritage and my desire to be an inspiration and messenger to others. This is by far the most fun I have had working on a scholarship, and I am so thankful for the opportunity! I would be so grateful to win this grant as I am going to further my education at Berklee College of Music. Thank you so much for creating this amazing opportunity for students like me. God bless.
12
Rolls
168
Hours
Ashlyn
J.
Inspiration:
I modeled the silhouette after a dress I already liked and the pattern/color story was inspired by another dress I had previously worn. The floral duct tape just stood out to me, since I’ve always been obsessed with flowers!
10
Rolls
27
Hours
Alyssa
L.
Inspiration:
I was inspired to have flowers and bright colors to give me the feeling of having a tropical paradise themed prom.
32
Rolls
61
Hours
Hannah
C.
Inspiration:
I was inspired by a leopard print top from my youth that I would wear absolutely everywhere. Although I didn’t get a chance to go to prom, I thought I’d bring out this “wild” side in the creation of my dress!
6
Rolls
12
Hours
MG
C.
Inspiration:
My inspiration for the overall concept was that of a “runaway princess”. I wanted to have the vibe of a princess running away from her castle at night, hence the ballgown shape and embellishments on my dress. The colors were inspired by my favorite colors and I also wanted a color combo that looks royal, which I think maroon and gold do.
13
Rolls
72
Hours
