Stuck At Prom®
Bianca P.
9 Rolls
40 Hours
Inspiration:
My first step was to make a sketch of what I wanted the dress to look like. After I was satisfied with my final idea, I had to do some research on basic techniques for creating the form that I wanted since I have never made a dress before. I started by taking a piece of fabric that I found at a thrift store and cutting out the basic shapes for the skirt and bodice. I measured and cut both so that I ended up with one bodice piece and one skirt piece that I made in the style of a high low circle skirt. I then took the skirt piece and cut it into eight triangular pieces, covered the front of these pieces in alternating black and white Duck Tape and trimmed the edges. Next, I covered the back of all the skirt pieces in red Duck Tape, first putting down white and putting the red on top to better hide the pattern of the fabric and create a slightly brighter red. Then I covered the entire bodice piece in black and trimmed the edges. I also added darts to the bodice in order to create a better fitting shape.
Stuck At Prom®
Riley P.
17 Rolls
52 Hours
Inspiration:
My dress is based on The solar system, galaxy, and looking at the stars. I always loved outer space, to me, it shows how there are an infinite amount of possibilities almost all being unknown to mankind, in other words showing how anything is possible. Like outer space, life is filled with unknowns waiting to be explored. There are flowers on my dress to show the life within the bleak darkness of outer space, showing the contrast of darkness in the dress to the brightness of life in the flowers. Where in outer space nothing is supposed to survive I put flowers that represent life and growth showing anything is possible even in the bleakest of moments. I made my shoes represent astronaut boots with the silver glitter coming from the bottom that shows a person's life fading into the darkness of space. To me, space is a vast concept of theories and ideas and it could be easy to get lost within but when you see the flowers to bring you up to life it could make things make more sense. although space could seem dark and bleak and go on infinitely with an infinite amount of possibility like life if you look in the right places you can see the beauty and glow of it all.
Stuck At Prom®
Ximena G.
12 Rolls
164 Hours
Inspiration:
My inspiration came from a letter that I wrote to my senior self in 8th grade. I received the letter not long before I began my dress and I will not lie I bawled my eyes out. In 8th grade, I was much closer to my family and was very happy. Towards the end of my letter, I asked myself if I still watched Game of Thrones with my dad (which we would rent from the library because we did not have wifi at home). I decided to make my dress appear as a dragon (Taking inspiration from Game of Thrones) because reminds me of how much I’ve grown as a person. This dragon also reminds me of a time in my life when all I saw was happiness and it also represents the close connection I have to my family!
Stuck At Prom®
Elise C.
33 Rolls
115 Hours
Inspiration:
Pink is too often discredited as a “girly” or frail color. This, however, could not be further from the truth; something that is feminine is not the same as weak. My mother was the one who demonstrated this to me at a young age. When I was about eight years old, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time I didn’t understand what this meant for her or our family, but I did recognize how strong she was for being kind, nurturing, and positive despite life as we knew it being uprooted. This dress is dedicated to her and the journey of all on the path to wellness. By incorporating shades of pink and white all over the dress, my submission for the 2021 Stuck at Prom scholarship is an homage to breast cancer awareness. As well as this, the flowers I added to the dress have a special symbolism. In general, flowers mean growth and renewal. By adding them, it signifies blooming after a winter or time of hardship. The flowers I made out of duct tape are carnations which symbolize love, and specifically, pink carnations are a mother’s love. Breast cancer affects almost one out of every eight women at some point in their lives. It is an issue that is very close to my heart, as many of the influential people in my life- my mother, dance coach, mentors, etc- have been touched by cancer. With it being so personal, I wanted my submission to reflect my experiences in life and how the scholarship would lead me in my future and those around me in regards to education and breast cancer awareness.
Stuck At Prom®
Nethula H.
22 Rolls
45 Hours
Inspiration:
I was inspired by a story I read when I was younger. I am heavily influenced by nature and the jungle, having living in a tropical country for many years.
Stuck At Prom®
Kora B.
33 Rolls
94 Hours
Inspiration:
Pink roses. All of my life I have been known for the color pink and pink roses are my favorite flower. When I was little my mom showed me this cool craft she had just found on the internet, it was how to make duck tape roses and we made so many together, which was the start of my duck tape obsession. I created many things out of duck tape, including purses, wallets, backpacks, pillows, and anything I could think of. When I heard of this scholarship from my mother I sketched out ideas immediately. I came up with the design and colors that represented me as a person the most. I also incorporated the flowers my mother taught me to make all over the dress, representing where it all started.
Stuck At Prom®
Amy M.
35 Rolls
32 Hours
Inspiration:
I have been inspired the Victorian-era dresses. I also recently read a book about the ancient Egyptian art of basket making, and I was inspired to make a dress with a woven design, similar to how baskets were made.
Stuck At Prom®
Angel G.
4 Rolls
20 Hours
Inspiration:
The inspiration for my dress was Captain Hook.
Stuck At Prom®
Avalon H.
25 Rolls
157 Hours
Inspiration:
In my life, I have struggled with a lot of anxiety. I wanted this dress to showcase the effect that anxiety can have on people, as well as my personal growth. Growing up and getting older can be nerve-wracking for everyone, and doing so in a pandemic is even more stressful. As I graduate high school and get ready to move to a bigger city to start university I am riddled with fears. What if I don’t like it? What if I chose the wrong program or the wrong university? What if I fail? These thoughts became the inspiration for my art. The dress has been created in black and white to represent the black and white thinking style that is often associated with anxious thoughts. The gold rim represents the "silver lining" of life when you can realize not everything needs to be stressed over and that some moments are simply there to enjoy. The swirling patterns throughout my dress represent the way that your thoughts can spiral due to anxiety, often becoming larger and darker if you don't stop them while the necklace points to the feeling of being choked because of fear. The pearl decals on my dress symbolize wisdom learned through experience, balance, and a new beginning. All of which will eventually come in the future. Finally, the flowers on my dress show personal growth through hard times, and how you are forever blooming and changing throughout your life.
Stuck At Prom®
Rin X.
8 Rolls
14 Hours
Inspiration:
Because the Hmong ethnicity is so small there was never any sort of representation. Not many people even know about our existence, but we are here and I hope to have shared a part of my culture through my duct tape rendition of a Hmong men’s outfit. Clothing is a very important aspect of one’s culture. It is the token symbolism of a person as it is the most eye catching adaptation of one’s story. I have always loved Hmong clothes, especially the girl’s outfits with the pleated skirts and layered outfits, but I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and try to create a boy’s outfit. With a vest decorated with hanging “coins” and “embroidery”, along with matching patterned pants, a pink waist sash, and topped off with a tiny fitted hat. My hopes for this outfit is to spread the knowledge of the Hmong people, as it is such a small portion of the Asian race. I hope for it to thrive on!
Stuck At Prom®
Colten N.
48 Rolls
95 Hours
Inspiration:
The United States Department of Agriculture estimates by the year 2050, there will be 10 billion people on planet Earth. This means it is so important in the present to protect and conserve our environment. Both land and food will be crucial in sustaining our population. My outfit was a manifestation of hope that humanity can become closer with the environment and our food sources to insure that we sustain such a large predicted population.
Stuck At Prom®
keyvia m.
16 Rolls
42 Hours
Inspiration:
My inspiration for my tux came from my prom’s theme, Enchanted Forest. I wanted to challenge myself to make something innovative and complex, so I started off by drawing many different variations and visions for this project, however that was the easiest part. When it came to making the pieces, controlling what stuck to the tape was not easy. However I did not give up. I pushed myself to develop new strategies after others failed. I ended up laying down plastic bags in the clothing pattern I wanted then applying the tape.
Stuck At Prom®
Hailey Y.
16 Rolls
93 Hours
Inspiration:
I've literally wanted to do this since like 2012, when I first saw it on the internet, because the idea of making duct tape attire was so cool to me, so now that I'm able, I wanted to create a suit that would not disappoint six-year-old me. Like dude I couldn't start working on the actual thing until summer started because of schoolwork, but I had the design ready since before March because I was just so excited to do this. I decided on a pirate/siren/fairytale kinda theme. Maybe even a little bit if superhero-y-ness thrown in. I wanted to look like a mystical prince of the sea or something, so I used reflective tape because it looks like magical glass and also really resembles bubbles. Its also just really really pretty, so much so that I incorporated it into the makeup look tpo lol. The mermaid draped against the suit is a cool centerpiece of sorts, and a part of the main structure of the suit. she dives down the suit in a show of elegance.
Stuck At Prom®
Chiara M.
27 Rolls
45 Hours
Inspiration:
My dress is based on the painting "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt, with added influence from the extravagant designs of Alexander McQueen. Though it's a fairly famous painting, I've always loved the colors , details, and emotions portrayed by the piece. Thus, I used my knowledge of fashion and design to modernize the cloak that wraps the two figures, and add a unique spin on it's meaning. The original painting is about true, pure, and raw love. The painting highlights both the roles of the man and woman in this relationship, giving them semi-equal value, but still upholding their gender roles. For my dress, I combined the patterns from both the man and woman (rectangles on shoulders and circles on mid-section), to create a feminine, yet strong silhouette. At first glance, the hat is quite unusual, however, the original painting takes inspiration from the halos of the byzantine empire to construct the idea of divine love. Therefore, I made a halo instead of a cloak, similar to that of the original mosaics of the empire. The flowers I made are white to symbolize the innocence of young love, and The mask stands as a symbol of blind or naive love. The dress includes many small details that allude to it's symbolic meaning, however, I believe it can mean something different to each person who sees or wears it.
Stuck At Prom®
Joanna J.
8 Rolls
77 Hours
Inspiration:
The inspiration behind my dress was pretty simple: space. I have always been enamored by the beauty and capabilities of things beyond our planet, so I thought it would be pretty neat to create a hand-crafted visual representation of the thing I'm infatuated by. The dress was intended to be made entirely out of black duct tape, but I instead went for the black glittered duct tape for the top portion. The duct tape was placed onto fabric and then shaped to how I saw fit. The hoops, or the planets' rings, were wrapped in glitter duct tape and either held on by an elastic cord or bobby pinned into my hair.
Stuck At Prom®
Ella S.
10 Rolls
44 Hours
Inspiration:
I’ve always been a big fan of three things, comfort, symbolism, and theatrics. I incorporated all three into this design. Since I was a child I’ve always had this chandelier in my room. If we moved, the chandelier would move with us. There are few things that are constant in life, but this seemed to be one for me that was the most positive. Light. This is a time when we all need light. The last two years have been so hard. My design represents brightness and hope and a warm familiarity with all things aged and vintage while creating a space for everyone to belong.
Stuck At Prom®
Kaelynn M.
20 Rolls
100 Hours
Inspiration:
This two-piece gown was inspired by the artist, SOPHIE, specifically by the song “It’s Okay to Cry”. The song is about self acceptance and self honesty. Being authentically one’s self and cherishing one’s identity. Surrealist elements were incorporated such as the eyes and two faces representing me “looking up to myself” in awe and pride. The shape of tears were also incorporated into the embellishments of the upper arm straps as well as tear drop beads used throughout the look. I liked the stringy look of duct tape so I designed it based on interweaving lines. I wanted to do something completely whimsical and surreal and so this is the final product of many hours of toil and joy.
Stuck At Prom®
Kaylaa B.
23 Rolls
148 Hours
Inspiration:
My appreciation for science first began in Kindergarten after observing the metamorphosis of the butterflies in my garden. Since then, I’ve enjoyed engineering a thermoelectric flashlight powered by body heat, competing on a FTC robotics team, and studying Thioclava electrotropha. STEM has been a center point in my life for as long as I can remember. The inspiration for my dress came from the moment that sparked my passion in STEM, thirteen years ago. This was my first fashion project. While it was quite difficult, I had a lot of fun designing and making the dress.
Bianca
P.
Riley
P.
Ximena
G.
Elise
C.
Nethula
H.
Kora
B.
Amy
M.
Angel
G.
Avalon
H.
Rin
X.
Colten
N.
keyvia
m.
Hailey
Y.
Chiara
M.
Joanna
J.
Ella
S.
Kaelynn
M.