These teens made their prom dresses and tuxedo from duct tape: See the best looks

Prom is a rite of passage for teens to dress up to the nines and celebrate the end of the school year with their friends and classmates. While some teens will spend countless hours on the hunt for the perfect dress or suit, some are putting their creativity to the test by crafting an elaborate prom-worthy look made entirely from duct tape.

Karla Torres spent more than 120 hours and 14 rolls of duct tape to create a a white, pink and gold, floral gown with a bustier top and trumpet sleeves inspired by the 18th century French art she saw while visiting the Getty Museum. The Los Angeles-based teen was dubbed the winner of the 2023 Duck Brand's Stuck at Prom contest, which awards cash prizes of up to $15,000 to teens who fashion prom dresses or tuxedos from duct tape.

Torres beat out more than 200 applicants with her feminine look inspired by historical fashion. "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," she said. "I decided to take inspiration from the Rococo era through my own personal interest in fashion."

Ian Hernandez Rojas, another grand prize winner of 2023 crafted a tuxedo that paid homage to his Salvadoran roots.

"In ancient times, both Mayans and Aztecs settled near El Salvador. I was inspired by the Mayan Gods, Kinich Ahau, the God of the Sun, and Kukulkan, the God of weather and life," he told Stuck At Prom.

Hernandez Rojas added that during the pandemic while he spent time in quarantine, he taught himself how to sew which was ultimately a helpful skill when it came time to make his own tuxedo.

Speaking with Yahoo Canada, Erika Avellaneda, a 2021 runner-up, offered a glimpse into her vintage Chanel and Greek-inspired convertible duct tape gown. Despite never taking much of interest in creative projects before, the Ottawa native said she decided to "take the plunge" anyway, and it paid off.

"I researched different types of dresses online, and different types of silhouettes," she recalled. "I was inspired by a Chanel Couture Fall 1990 dress. I liked the shape and concept of the two dresses becoming one."

Avellaneda detailed how she came to include the evil eye symbol on her gown. After narrowing down the colour scheme — using the traditional Egyptian colours, white, gold, black and turquoise — she knew she "had to add it in."

According to Washington Post, the evil eye symbol has been found throughout history for thousands of years across cultures. Wearing the symbol as jewelry or on clothing has been said to protect oneself from anyone wishing them harm. In North Africa and the Middle East, the symbol is believed to ward off the "envy of others that can bring about bad things in your life."

Crafting a dress out of 17 rolls of duct tape presented its own set of challenges. For starters, it took her 143 hours. Avellaneda said she cut and layered duct tape over a cloth base, likening the process to solving a complex puzzle.

Avellaneda's creative journey involved a significant amount of trial and error, she explained: "I didn’t have a mannequin so sometimes I was almost wrapping myself in duct tape."

Sourcing the right shades of duct tape also proved to be challenging, as she faced restrictions around the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the logistical hurdles and technical obstacles, Avellaneda persevered, adding she "often had to travel quite far" to purchase the duct tape needed to finish her project.

Ultimately, the unveiling of Avellaneda's duct tape masterpiece garnered widespread acclaim from friends, family, and the online community. "They were very happy and excited for me and this experience," she shared. "One of my fondest memories of this experience was my 'five minutes of fame.'"

"After a few news broadcasts I had strangers asking to take pictures with me and my dress. Looking back now, even though it was during COVID, I felt that my art was still able to connect me with my community," she shared.

Prior to participating in the Stuck At Prom contest, Avellaneda confessed she was not "super in touch" with her creative side.

"The duct tape dress helped rekindle that joy," she said, adding that it even inspired her to take one of the "most time-consuming and challenging classes I've taken in school."

"For one of our final projects, we had this big exhibition where a lot of my pieces were inspired by my duct tape dress, this time instead of duct tape I used different recycled materials and displayed them as dresses."

Since being accepted to Parsons Fashion and Pratt Industrial Design school in New York City, Avellaneda hopes to study design one way or another.

"...Whether it be in fashion, marketing or industrial design. The duct tape contest gave me confidence and helped me get into these schools as it was a part of my portfolio."

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