My inspiration for my outfit was my love of Asian culture. I have always had a love for the architecture, food, media, etc. Being a martial artist for ten years now, I am now pursuing my instructorship and being the only girl, I feel I always have to have a tough persona to be taken seriously. I wanted to represent the idea of yin and yang, having a masculinity and femininity. Being both tough and beautiful. Recently finding out my great-grandfather was from China, along with having a dream of traveling the world. I wanted to create a dress, a work of art that represented all these passions and experiences. A work of art representing my family's past and my future. The Chinese symbols represent strength, bravery (brave), and beauty. The flowers represent this femininity, and the tiger represents a mixture of beauty and masculinity.
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Aiko
T.
11
Rolls
27
Hours
Inspiration:
My inspiration for this dress was my love for the sport I compete in, which is crew, where I race in a boat with eight other people down lanes on the water. I’ve made the ribbing on the corset part of the dress to be representative of the lanes we race down, the waves at the bottom to represent the water we race in, and the lace up back to represent the boat I row in with all of my teammates.
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alex
h.
24
Rolls
49
Hours
Inspiration:
The inspiration for this dress came from historical fashion, particularly royal garments from the 1700s and 1800s. I was inspired by the dramatic silhouettes, structured bodices, and elegant details often seen in aristocratic and royal clothing from those centuries. The color purple was especially important to the design because it has long been associated with royalty, wealth, and power due to how rare and expensive purple dye once was. By combining rich purple tones with gold accents and decorative details, I wanted the dress to feel regal, timeless, and inspired by the elegance of historical nobility.
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Cole
S.
14
Rolls
55
Hours
Inspiration:
I designed my prom tuxedo in red, white, and blue as a tribute to the 250th anniversary of the United States. I placed 250 stars throughout the whole outfit, with each star representing a year of America's history. It required careful planning, layering, and hand-cut details to bring it to life. This tux celebrates a major milestone in our nation's history, and I'm glad to be a part of it.
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hazel
h.
8
Rolls
22
Hours
Inspiration:
As someone who naturally leans toward English, taking AP Calculus this year has been an enjoyable way to push myself. After dedicating countless hours to the subject, it had effectively taken over my headspace. For my final project, I wanted to channel that academic intensity into something artistic, translating my coursework into a fully wearable garment constructed out of duct tape.
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evie
F.
11
Rolls
40
Hours
Inspiration:
I took inspiration from my favorite movie, fashion styles, and personal design choices. I've always been a little different and I like to embrace that. This project was certainly more appealing than simply writing another essay for yet another scholarship opportunity.
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Ruth
K.
7
Rolls
24
Hours
Inspiration:
Strangely, my dad, who helped me buy the Duck Tape, made me choose my colors before I designed the dress. So I chose blue and gold—the most elegant and aesthetically pleasing color combination, in my opinion. I knew I couldn't go wrong there.
As I thought about those colors, Marie Antoinette, Versailles, and 18th-century gowns came to mind. From that point on, I knew I wanted a corset-style bodice and a full skirt.
After trying on the dress for the first time, I noticed fairytale and Disney princess influences that I hadn't intentionally planned. That inspired me to add the delicate gold scrollwork up the side of the dress for a magical touch.
It was interesting not to start the project with a clear design in mind, but it definitely pushed me to rely on my creativity. Constructing the full skirt was especially challenging, requiring four rolls of gold tape and a hoop-skirt form to achieve the silhouette I envisioned. I'm glad I was able to take the project in an unexpected direction and learn new skills along the way!
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Corinne
C.
24
Rolls
82
Hours
Inspiration:
Ever since I first heard of this competition I knew exactly what I was going to make. Since I was thirteen I have been making drawings and sketches of this gown, trying to envision it in my head. I am so excited to have finally been able to enact my vision and bring this dress to life.
This dress is a classically constructed robe a la francaise, a type of gown worn in the mid 1700s by nobles like Marie Antoinette and Queen Charlotte. The gown consists of four parts: the Pannier; a type of early hoop skirt that was wide only at the sides, the Petticoat/Underskirt that was wor, under the dress and was visible through the v-shaped opening in the front, the Stomacher; a panel worn on the chest that attached the actual dress together, and the Robe a la Francaise itself; a beautiful gown with ruffled sleeves and a pleated cape in the back. Now, back then they would have used expensive silk or satin. I went a slightly different route. I thrifted bed sheets and carefully covered them in duck tape before measuring and cutting out my pattern. This was my first attempt at dress making, so I was slightly out of my league, but I think I pulled it off! I wanted to combine 2-d and 3-d elements, so I spent many hours carefully constructing ruffles and bows and carefully drawing and cutting out images of flowers.
Figuring out I was trans was one of the best moments of my life. It came to me as a shining light in a time where I was so depressed and miserable and didn't feel like I had anything to live for. Realizing I was trans saved my life and has saved the lives of so many people like me. With this dress I wanted to show that trans people are here; we do exist; and we are capable of living fulfilling and happy lives, even in a world that may not always accept us.
My inspiration for this dress was my identity as a trans person and the transgender flag. The three colors I used on this dress are the ones on the trans flag. And I even made the cape of the dress into a transgender flag. The flowers on the front of the dress also have meaning in LGBTQIA+ culture. The roses represent trans people, as well as love, passion and friendship. The carnation was popularized by Oscar Wilde as a symbol for gay men. And the violet has long been used as a symbol for lesbians. I felt it was important to represent other members of the queer community on my dress as well as trans people.
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Kenlei
M.
12
Rolls
16
Hours
Inspiration:
The inspiration for my dress was my two favorite colors; bright pink and bright orange. I also had a stomach cutout which I had really wanted in my actual prom dress but didn’t have. Lastly, my mom had mentioned a high to low design which I really like the idea of.
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Kayla
M.
17
Rolls
15
Hours
Inspiration:
This year we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. My inspiration for my dress is colonial gowns, ruffles, paper fans, beauty pageants, and the American flag. What helped me design my dress was envisioning all the patriotic colors of tape I picked up at the store integrated into each other . I wanted to spotlight every single color I’ve chosen somehow in my design. I also wanted to convey how I see patriotism throughout my whole dress, not just by colors but history. I incorporated history by trying to use the essence of colonial gowns used before by woman and somehow also use part of the design of the flag. In the end I had a bunch of scraps of tape so to represent the freedom of our country I decided to make an Eagle which I then name Liberty to represent us. I’m so happy that I get to share my creation with its representation of the United States Of America!
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Soraya
K.
12
Rolls
140
Hours
Inspiration:
Inspired by American superheroes and Japanese magical girls, this dress was made by around two months of work, a bunch of Duck Tape, and a couple zippers.
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Lily
S.
12
Rolls
49
Hours
Inspiration:
For my dress, I was inspired by the Artemis II space launch on April 1 earlier this year. There have been a number of rocket launches over the course of my lifetime, but this was the first rocket launched with the goal of an eventual moon landing since the 1972 Apollo 17 launch. While there is much to learn from every space mission, the choice to begin sending missions to deep space again marks a new period of exploration. The little nerd inside of me who watched every Star Wars movie and read Sci-fi obsessively is filled with excitement at the thought that there is so much left for the human race to discover. I’m excited to think that there could even be life that we haven’t reached yet, and whole cultures that we’ve yet to learn about. It was this that inspired me to create the dress I did. Each layer gets darker symbolizing the deeper that humans explore in space.
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Hannah
R.
18
Rolls
75
Hours
Inspiration:
The design of my dress was inspired by my love for theatre and the arts. It depicts themes from one of my favorite musicals, Phantom of the Opera, including a piano pattern, a mask, and 127 red roses.
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Alexandra
P.
11
Rolls
30
Hours
Inspiration:
This dress was inspired by the song "Butterfly Season" by Ella Langley and Miranda Lambert because as I move closer to my grade 12 graduation, it truly is my butterfly season. I grew up in a small town, raised by my grandparents my whole life. Finally now I am spreading my wings and moving to Calgary to pursue my Bachelor of Commerce. Every detail of this dress tells the story of my youth. The grey middle section was made out of my youth ballet tutu, the dried roses were from a bouquet given to me at my last-ever dance recital, and lastly, the giant wings represent leaving home and finding the best version of myself. The outfit represents my transformation from feeling like an unworthy young girl to a confident woman. The entire outfit was handcrafted using Duck Brand duct tape in gray, rainbow, blue floral, pink zebra, teal leopard, zig zag, and butterfly patterned varieties. I started by cutting out the wings out of cardboard, pinning a sheet to fit me like a dress, and pinning the tutu onto the sheet. After this base was completed, I used the tape to decorate the dress and the dried roses to make a piece of art that tells the story of moving into young adulthood.
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Rio
L.
56
Rolls
760
Hours
Inspiration:
My mother always said, “Duck Tape is a woman’s best friend”. And I believe that to be true.
She has accompanied me through every arduous backpacking mile. A silent friend wrapped around my water bottles, quietly waiting to help in times of need. She has protected every blister before it starts, patched every boot whose threads had unwound, and mended every rip in my rain gear that had caught on a thorny bush. When wrapped around my hiking poles, my ol’ friend even stood between a black bear and me on the West Coast Trail….a true friend indeed! But she evolved to represent much more than a trusty backpacking friend. She helped me create an image in a dress that symbolized the passion, morals, and ethics of who I am becoming. Someone shaped by the outdoors, whose respect for the natural world and the creatures within it has become a driving force.
Growing up on a farm, I always loved animals, and so did my ol’ friend. She helped me attach toothpick splints to broken chicken legs and saved me from a sewing job when the baby Nigerian goat diapers were too big. I loved peeking into the owl boxes in the spring to see the baby balls of fluff, but it was my ol’ friend who kept them from getting wet by waterproofing their boxes. I loved listening to the talking frogs at sunset on my back porch and watching the Red-Wing Blackbirds dive into the pond’s cattails at dusk. Watching the Mallards set their wings and how they could dodge all the willow branches as they would land in our pond was always a treat. I grew up doing my homework on the back porch with the music of swallows singing in the bamboo. Animals gave me comfort.
I pursued that comfort with volunteer opportunities at the World Center for Birds of Prey and Zoo Boise. These public education programs opened my eyes to the many problems facing animals today. I wanted to help, but didn’t yet know how.
I decided to expand my understanding of animals by job shadowing local veterinarians. There, I learned how domestic animals were treated when sick. But I was still curious about who cared for the wild animals when they were sick or injured?
This curiosity led to much research and concluded with me aiming towards becoming a wildlife veterinarian. The requirements of a Doctorate in Wildlife Biology and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine made it clear that this was not going to be an easy task. I buckled down and put my mind to it. That hard work has allowed me to graduate as valedictorian, two years early, and with an associate’s degree in biology to give myself a head start on this long educational journey. This was my comfort, my passion, and I felt compelled to help the sick and injured wild animals who could not help themselves.
Animals like the endangered scarlet macaw, with less than 1,000 left in Central America, have gone extinct in parts of Mexico. Their livelihood is threatened by deforestation and illegal pet trade. I want to be the wildlife veterinarian who can help by checking their wild nests to manage parasite infections and provide care to neglected chicks. I would relocate chicks who are at risk of being stolen to conservation centers until they are old enough to be released. As a wildlife veterinarian, I would treat sick or injured adult macaws confiscated from the illegal pet trade, rehabilitate them, and train them to avoid humans before releasing them back into the wild. I would also conduct field monitoring by taking samples of blood, feathers, and swabs to detect diseases that threaten the population. Finally, I would monitor if the released birds were adapting and surviving.
This life journey comes from the heart. It is not one of prestige or fortune, and I know I will be facing an uphill battle most of the time. But when a passion runs deep, and the heart is full of love and compassion, I believe it is a journey worth taking. I want to make a difference…one macaw at a time.
So, thank you, ol’ friend, for being there in times of need and helping me to create an empowering symbol that I can take forward with me on my journey. I look forward to many more adventures together.
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Jasmine
R.
16
Rolls
112
Hours
Inspiration:
The inspiration for my dress stemmed from a medieval Goth theme taking place in darker settings. My intention was to create an outfit with dark and elegant elements, the sharp shapes and dark colors. I used majority black rolls of tape, and red tape as highlights to define the points even more. I made an intention with the process of photography in front of a red tree with a cloudy sky to recreate the feeling of darkness in a medieval setting. I was inspired by the beautiful dark nights, imagining a wine glass of blood a vampire held.
Though my imagination ran through, the dark nights of silence sitting outside under the very tree I stood under, made me feel so at peace. I based the dress on how that red leaf tree looks through my window at night during my deepest thoughts. The tree helped me with a lot of things, one being the final theme of my dress. Now, I feel like the elegant vampire under that tree.
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Reagan
M.
11
Rolls
12
Hours
Inspiration:
This dress was inspired by pride month. It represents hope and inclusion for all members of the LGBTQ + community as well as hope for people in trying times from all walks of life.
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Natalie
G.
18
Rolls
93
Hours
Inspiration:
My inspiration for this duct tape prom dress came from my brother, who is currently serving overseas in the United States Navy, and from the 250th anniversary of America. I wanted to create something that honored both our country and the people who sacrifice so much to protect it. The red, white, and blue colors represent the American flag, while the 50 stars and 13 stripes symbolize our nation’s history and unity. The bows along the slit represent strength and perseverance, and the bouquet, headband, giant back bow, and heels complete the patriotic theme. This project became more than just a dress, it became a way to show my gratitude for my brother, military families, and the freedoms we enjoy every day.
