Impressive formal wear crafted by 18-year-olds in high school secure them top prizes
Two high school students created prom outfits out of tape and won thousands of dollars in return.
Monica Walsh and Isaac Cervantes were announced as the 2024 Duck Brand Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest recipients after spending countless hours putting together a tuxedo and a dress out of tape.
Walsh, from Dryden, Ontario, made a colorful prom dress — winning the title "Grand Prize Dress" — while Cervantes, from Pilot Point, Texas, made a blue tux, which earned him the title of "Grand Prize Tux."
TEENS MAKE PROM DRESS AND TUX OUT OF DUCT TAPE, WIN $10K IN SCHOLARSHIP PRIZE MONEY
For winning the top prize, both 18-year-olds were given $15,000 in scholarship money.
Monica Walsh (pictured here) is an 18-year-old from Ontario who spent 126 hours making her award-winning prom dress. (Duck Brand )
Walsh, who just graduated from high school, said it took her 126 hours to make her prom dress out of 13 rolls of Duck Brand Tape.
"I’ve never used Duck Tape to make a full outfit, [and] it took a lot more time than I thought it would take as I have many small details in my dress," she told Fox News Digital via email.
TEENS AWARDED $10K IN COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR MAKING DUCT TAPE PROM OUTFITS
The scholarship recipient said that she's a very creative person and would even make her own Halloween costumes as a kid — but this contest was a different challenge.
"My inspiration was from the artist Romero Britto. I love his use of colors and fun patterns, which inspired me to add a lot of colors and patterns," she said, adding that she also wanted to "push prom fashion boundaries."
Walsh said she pulled inspiration from Romero Britto, a Brazilian artist known for cubism, pop art, painting, graffiti and bright colors. (Duck Brand )
Walsh said she was "so, so excited" upon learning that she was a contest winner, adding, "My jaw dropped immediately when I found out."
Walsh will be attending Lakehead University in Ontario to study education in hopes of becoming a chemistry teacher. She said she will use the scholarship money to help pay for her college tuition.
SHOP OWNER FINDS MYSTERIOUS NOTE ON DONATED PROM DRESS
Cervantes told Fox News Digital that his prom tuxedo creation took many hours — in fact, he’s not even sure how many.
"It’s very hard to tell on how many hours it took us to make it, as a majority of our time was spread out," he explained, adding that he would work on his attire every Sunday with his mom by his side.
"I am absolutely thankful to God, family and friends for this amazing opportunity."
"My mom and I love working on small arts and craft projects, [but] a suit was definitely a challenge," Cervantes said, adding, "I wanted to do one last project with my mom before I left for college."
Isaac Cervantes (pictured here) said he used 16 rolls of Duck Brand duct tape to make his prom tux. (Duck Brand )
Cervantes said the inspiration for his tuxedo came from his family’s Hispanic and Christian cultures.
"I wanted to bring in my American culture, as I am a Mexican American," he said.
He continued, "We thought about how a monarch butterfly travels between countries to begin their families. This would be a perfect representation of the journey my parents went through."
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Cervantes said he made the duct tape creation with his mom and incorporated his family's cultures. (Duck Brand )
Cervantes said he was proud of the final results, which took 16 rolls of Duck Tape to achieve.
"I am grateful to everyone who voted, and the local newspaper who got the word out as soon as they could," he said.
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Cervantes plans to put the $15,000 scholarship award toward his college tuition to Austin College in Sherman, Texas, where he will be studying in the fall.
"I am absolutely thankful to God, family and friends for this amazing opportunity," he said.
Two high school graduates won the 24th annual Duck Brand Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest after making unique prom outfits out of tape. (Duck Brand )
Kerry Haugh, director of product marketing at Shurtape Technologies, LLC, told Fox News Digital that this year's competition offered the biggest prizes yet.
"With larger cash scholarships and new categories to win in, we’re ensuring talented teens have more opportunities than ever before to be rewarded for their creativity, inspirational stories and fashion-forward style," she said.
Walsh and Cervantes submitted their designs to the 24th annual Duck Brand Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest before their pieces were chosen for a public vote. From there, the winners were selected based on the submissions with the greatest number of votes.
The runner-up outfits were given $1,000 for their efforts and other category prizes were awarded to "Most Runway Worthy" and "Trust E’s Choice."
Another prize category was "Most Inspiring," which Cervantes also won.
Brittany Kasko is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital.
