I grew up watching princess and the frog and it is one of my favorite movies. So I attempted making a replica of the blue dress from the balcony.
Stuck At Prom®
Isabel V.
15
Rolls
31
Hours
Inspiration:
My design was inspired by Goth Fashion. I didn’t want to make a traditional prom dress. Instead, I wanted to make something that looked more Avant-garde, with a dark and romanticized silhouette. My passion has always been to work with my hands and use unconventional or recycled items and turn them into works of beauty.
Stuck At Prom®
Amy Z.
14
Rolls
19
Hours
Inspiration:
I took inspiration from brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Dzhus conceptual wear, Simone Rocha, and Melique Street. I drew from 1950-60s retrofuturism women's fashion and from those tasseled and flowery lamps in antique shops that your mom thinks are ugly but you secretly think are beautiful. A common motif throughout my process was the rose. I grew up in Portland, Oregon, where roses are abundant and very important to the community. These roses helped me add a part of myself and my community to the design. Overall, I really enjoyed being a part of this project and am proud of what I made, even if it did take a lot of trial and error.
Stuck At Prom®
Angelina F.
16
Rolls
100
Hours
Inspiration:
I enjoyed researching the different kinds of Duck Tape brand tape, and as I was looking up the various bright colors and extravagant designs, I saw the pink and orange floral Duck Tape and was struck with a brilliant idea. I first created the floral top by making a muslin base and hand-cutting the little flowers out, and once that was completed, I went on to create the skirt. The skirt again has a muslin base and is wholly made out of black Duck Tape. After finishing the dress section, I began my appliqué using the pink Duck Tape. These 3D flowers were cut out with a cutting printer and then hand cut to ensure they were perfect. Then they were glued onto the dress with extra heavy glue to ensure they wouldn’t fall off. Once the dress was complete, I made three different accessories. I created a corsage, a clutch, and a choker. The corsage was made out of 3 of the 3D flowers, then I also created baby’s breath flowers with white Duck Tape as the flower bud and green as the stem, and I added three green leaves to the side as an accent. The clutch handbag is made entirely of black Duck Tape, with six hand-cut small flowers on the sides and one big 3D flower in the middle of the flap to act like a button. Then last was the choker, which is just one strip of black Duck Tape with a 3D flower on the side. As a seamstress of 6 years, this scholarship spoke to me. I love creating dresses, bags, and the occasional professional ballet tutu. Doing this contest has been a delight, and thank you, Duck Tape brand, for allowing all of us creative kids to let loose and be “Stuck at the Prom”.
Stuck At Prom®
Priscilla S.
16
Rolls
40
Hours
Inspiration:
I was heavily inspired by my future university. Their mascot is a bat, and I had fun with the idea. Then I also wanted to be seen as a warrior. I’ve had many ups and downs throughout life but I’ve came out victorious each time.
Stuck At Prom®
Ori P.
34
Rolls
76
Hours
Inspiration:
Flying is a dream most people wish for, to sore through the skies on two of your very own wings. Talent is very similar to this, however sometimes those who have the ability to fly, may cause jealousy. There will be people who will push you down and try to belittle you, try to take away your ability to fly. So I call my dress Earth Angel, and while it was meant for someone else to wear, I found out the creator had to wear it and so I had to adjust it a little to my height.
I made over 600 feathers to make this dress, 2 wings needing around 80-180 feathers for each side, as seen in the photos one wing is burned implying it can no longer fly.
So even if I'm a guy, this dress is meant to display the ugliness of what happens when talent crosses jealousy or rejection, as well as the beauty of something not entirely perfect. Scars can be beautiful because it shows the hardships, and even if you can no longer fly, you have the experience to move on, or the knowledge to pass it on to someone who wishes to fly. I hope this dress will fly again as I share it with you all.
Stuck At Prom®
Karla T.
14
Rolls
120
Hours
Inspiration:
An era of flourishing gold, elegance, and pastel floral prints. This dress is inspired by 18th-century French art that I saw at the Getty Museum. I was captivated by the amount of gold and extravagant paintings they had on display. It was a time period of luxurious gowns full of lace, floral prints, ribbons, and ruffles. So I wanted to incorporate some of these elements into my dress. Fitting to the inspiration, I used the colors of pastel pink, white, and gold duct tape for the design of my dress. I decided to take inspiration from the Rococo era through my own personal interest in fashion. I am fascinated by clothes and how it has evolved through the course of history. Although we are in the 21st century, it doesn’t stop us from dressing up from any time period. I wanted to showcase a dress that reflects a glamorous era of fashion.
Stuck At Prom®
Meah T.
12
Rolls
18
Hours
Inspiration:
This dress was definitely a labor of love.
I have double vision and shaky hands. So I am shocked this dress didn’t take longer to create and put together.
I was inspired by my favorite color blue, and the boldness of red. I have loved Dragons since I was little. So of course I had to have a large Dragon. I decided to use Lao flowers to incorporate the Lao culture from my Dads side.
Stuck At Prom®
Catrielle B.
18
Rolls
72
Hours
Inspiration:
It was a joyful experience participating in the 2023 Stuck on Prom Challenge. I wanted to convey the message of embracing our hopes and dreams, so I decided to create a Dreamscape dress. Before I began, I sketched and contemplated a bold design containing three-dimensional elements. To start, I pattern drafted and cut my patterns out of black Duck Tape. Next, I cut hundreds of tiny strips of gold and silver tape and applied this design to the dress. Once I finished sewing and adding the trim to the dress, I moved towards creating mini Duck Tape sculptures.
I focused on an abstract leaf design in gold to radiate on the bodice and cascade down the skirt. The final step was to add tiny silver Duck Tape balls to create a gem-like quality to the outfit. I continued the bold color palette and linear designs when creating; a purse, platform shoes, bracelet/cuff, and hairpins. The bag is functional and holds a phone and wallet. Wearing the completed look was a thrilling conclusion to my high school career.
Stuck At Prom®
Jordan T.
18
Rolls
92
Hours
Inspiration:
Fireworks were my main point of inspiration for this dress. Just imagine a dark, quiet summer night, and then boom, the sky is filled with different colors that swirl through the air. The base of the dress uses black duct tape to represent the peaceful night sky, and then uses a plethora of pink and gold tones to represent the burst of light. I made this dress by using my measurement and muslin fabric as the base for the duct tape to be made off of. Overall, it was a very fun and challenging experience as I had to learn how to manipulate the duct tape to work with the design.
Stuck At Prom®
Nora S.
12
Rolls
65
Hours
Inspiration:
This dress is titled Eudaimonia, a Greek word meaning “the condition of human flourishing or of living well.”
When looking at it for the first time, some features may pop out to the viewer, such as the bone color throughout or the bright red bow. However, there is much more to this dress than what meets the eye. The neckpiece is meant to represent the tangles of nerves that run on the throat. The cut-outs in the side of the dress are modeled after human ribs in their shape and placement. The bolero on the arms shows the arm bones, and is held together with chains and key rings, which represent ligaments. The rectangular, square, gold earrings loosely resemble the helix of a DNA strand. The lace on the back is meant to embody how the main nerves stem from the spine. The tie of the corset gold to emphasize the spinal cord. The ruffles on the skirt are modeled after Floraform, a white, twisty computer-generated model of how cells interact and grow over time. One of the focal points is the red bow on the bodice, which symbolizes the heart. I made this a focal point on the dress because the heart is most important for survival.
I chose the idea of the human body/anatomy for this dress because it’s something that many of us don’t appreciate or recognize. Most people my age are chronically online, including myself. We all get so caught up in what’s on our screens that it can be easy to forget our surroundings and the people around us. This piece is a reminder that we’re not meant to live our lives through screens, we’re human beings that need more experiences than what electronics can provide.
Stuck At Prom®
Ally R.
23
Rolls
81
Hours
Inspiration:
Even before deciding on a design for my dress, I knew I wanted a nature theme. While trying to figure out what I would use specifically, I noticed a lily pond during a senior photo shoot, and was immediately drawn to it. Water features have always been my favorite part of nature, and I love the color blue, so I decided to run with it. To feed the inner little girl in me, I started looking at princess dress designs for the ginormous skirts and itty bitty waists. Following that rabbit hole, I really wanted to add effects to make the dress feel and look magical. Because Disney is full of princess magic, I decided to look at several Disney princess movies and noticed elements of light in several of the most magical scenes of the movies. After doing some research, I found LED lights in dresses is a thing!! So of course, I had to incorporate it. :) This whole project was honestly incredibly difficult for me. It became a huge time commitment I had to balance outside of school, homework, and every other extracurricular I participated it. My RDS (rejection sensitive dysphoria) also made it mentally difficult having to push through extreme insecurities on top of the several structural issues I struggled to figure out. At the beginning of the project I knew it would be difficult because of my mental struggles, I didn't even realize the overwhelming difficulties of the dress itself. But I decided to see this project through not for the money, but to prove to myself that I could do it. To me, this dress symbolizes the first huge hurdle I was able to push through purely with strengths I didn't realize I had. It's physical proof of my capability in any trial and that will be worth more than any money I could ever win.
Stuck At Prom®
Ava G.
24
Rolls
127
Hours
Inspiration:
My inspiration for this dress comes from my favorite childhood activity, making duck tape dresses for my Barbie dolls. When I was younger I was OBSESSED with making original outfits out of duck tape for the dolls. Each outfit would have matching shoes and bags and was constructed in a way that allowed for each to be removed and re-worn. I was so excited to take this concept and make a dress for myself to wear. Many of the outfits that I made consisted of a solid color of tape with accents of either silver or gold. This is why I chose to only work with 2 colors: black and silver.
My passion for fashion began when I was younger and my grandmother bought me my first sewing machine and taught me how to sew. Since then I have always enjoyed both sketching and designing outfits as well as constructing them. I wanted to make individual pieces that could be worn in different combinations to achieve different looks. This dress was specifically designed with inspiration from avant-garde fashion and with a dark fantasy aesthetic. I wanted to create a unique, high-fashion dress that could be seen within a fantasy book or movie, and turn a fantasy of my own into reality.
Stuck At Prom®
Grace W.
12
Rolls
21
Hours
Inspiration:
My dress was inspired by Blake Lively's 2019 Met Gala dress. Her dress was inspired by the Statue of Liberty so I also took inspiration from that too. The statue was originally copper, but it oxidized and turned green. The copper parts of the dress represents the past and the green represents the present. We have to approach the present with the past in mind but we cannot let it hold us back. This was my Junior Inquiry Project. We had to research on how to do something and create a product. I obviously created the dress. In the end, I presented it to my English class proving that I was successful in making the dress.
Stuck At Prom®
Benjamin H.
13
Rolls
41
Hours
Inspiration:
Music is the centerpiece of any celebration. Without it you wouldn't have a prom to begin with. I chose to make a musical masterpiece with Duck Brand duct tape. Constructed out of duck taped plastic panels and stitched together using even more duct tape, this tuxedo is a one of a kind work to behold. I loved putting on the suit for the first time and seeing a REAL suit, that I made, OUT OF DUCK TAPE!!
Stuck At Prom®
Taylor R.
9
Rolls
30
Hours
Inspiration:
My inspiration for the outfit was every alien story, especially the ones my friends and I would tell each other at sleepovers. So, I did a night sky with the classic UFO sucking up a cow.
Stuck At Prom®
Taylor P.
18
Rolls
80
Hours
Inspiration:
For my suit, I wanted to deviate from the norm, and create something that truly differed from the average collection of suits one would see at prom! So, I decided to go for a much more fashionable look, and something I knew I would enjoy wearing. I drew specific inspirations from my own sense of fashion, and more regal and royal suits from different eras. Since I dabble in color theory, I also decided to stick to a simple color palette, just to be sure that my suit would be pleasing to the eye. This lead to me deciding on a royal navy blue, along with gold and white. I found this combination would go perfectly with a shimmering star aesthetic, and decided on this being my route design wise. In the end, I found the suit felt reminiscent of something that may belong to a witch of another world, something that felt classic, but also very modern! I loved the sense of style I had while making this suit, and it truly felt like something I would wear!
Stuck At Prom®
Mayah T.
10
Rolls
44
Hours
Inspiration:
I decided to create an outfit that expressed a part of me (which ended up being my love of the ocean). I wanted to capture its wild beauty within this dress, by using the swirling design of the bodice to show a wave in motion, ending in white foam, which curls around the neck. The belt of gold, silver, and white represents lost treasure. Lining the slit of the dress, there are metallic leaves, symbolizing the sun reflecting off marine plants near the water's surface, which I've always thought were pretty.