Isaac Cervantes’ Grand Prize-winning duct tape tuxedo [Photo via Shurtape Technologies]
He designed a tuxedo for prom, and it was not only stunning; waterproofas well. And now Isaac Cervantes has won two international prizes and a $16,000 scholarship in the 2024 “Stuck at Prom” scholarship competition hosted by Ohio-based Duck Tape.
Cervantes He entered the contest as a high school student in Pilot Point, a small town in Denton County. To compete against more than 150 contestants from across the U.S. and Canada, he designed a tuxedo that celebrated both his Mexican roots and his American homeland: a flamboyant design that combined the flamboyant Greco tuxedo with mariachi stylings.
After the competition judges selected the top 10 finalists, online voting selected Cervantes’ Mexican-American culture-inspired tuxedo as one of two grand prize winners, each with a cash prize of $15,000. (The award for best dress went to a pop art design by Monica Walsh of Dryden, Ontario.)
Cervantes also won a $1,000 cash scholarship for creating the most inspiring design in the competition.
Isaac Cervantes’ Grand Prize-winning duct tape tuxedo [Photo via Shurtape Technologies]
123 hours, a mobile tablet, and 16 rolls of duct tape
Cervantes spent 123 hours constructing the tuxedo using 16 rolls of duct tape.
To create a duct tuxedo, he He first designed the tuxedo at school and at home by drawing different “cut-out” designs on a mobile tablet, cutting out pieces of fabric, sticking duct tape over them and layering the fabric together to create the tuxedo.
“The most time-consuming part was making sure everything was straight,” he says in a video on the contest’s website. “Sometimes the cuts and the placement and the ducting didn’t stick perfectly, or we got sweaty and all the glue fell off, but we definitely did it. All we had to do was make sure it fit, and it did.”
He also made the belts, bow ties and sombreros to literally finish off the ducted tuxedo.
Isaac Cervantes’ Grand Prize winning entry, a duct tape tuxedo, features a monarch butterfly on the back made from the American and Mexican flags. [Photo via Shurtape Technologies]
Distinctive decoration: a butterfly made of the American and Mexican flags
“As a Mexican-American, I am proud of the traditions and culture that both countries have instilled in me,” Cervantes wrote on the pageant’s website. “I have utilized an ancient Greek meandering pattern to interweave the colors of the U.S. and Mexican flags along the sides of my pant legs and along the edge of my bolero jacket and vest.”
“The fish, cross and dove embedded in the Greek meander represent my Christian faith,” he adds. “These intertwining colors and symbols exemplify how my faith and both cultures have played a role in defining who I am. Like the monarch butterfly, my identity has been nurtured by both Mexico and this great country, the United States. The monarch butterfly is featured on belts, belt buckles, bow ties, sombreros and suit jackets.”
The signature design is on the back of the tuxedo and features a monarch butterfly with the American and Mexican flags side by side on its wings, with a star and eagle in the center of the flags.
It took Cervantes three full days to make the sombrero. [Photo via Shurtape Technologies]
The sombrero was the hard part
If you’ve never made a sombrero out of duct tape, you don’t have to anymore: Cervantes spent three full days crafting it.
“I didn’t want to just put a sombrero on and wrap it around my neck,” he says in the video. “I wanted to make it original.”
“It was a very difficult process,” he adds. “It had to be wrapped, glued and molded together. So I took a piece of cardboard and wrapped it in duct tape. I wanted to use a nice fabric for the cap, so I wrapped it in duct tape, put it inside the cardboard and folded it.”
Cervantes added a silver ornament around the rim of the sombrero, created a rope material out of duct tape and wrapped it around the ornament, then added the design to the entire sombrero.
Monica Walsh of Dryden, Ontario, won first place for her pop art-inspired duct tape prom dress. [Photo via Shurtape Technologies]
“A magnificent display of creativity”
Kelly Howe, director of product marketing for duct tape at SureTape Technologies, the maker of Duck Tape, said the company commends this year’s contestants for their “incredible creativity and congratulates Monica and Isaac for their wins.”
“It takes true talent to transform duck tape into incredible looks, and this year’s participants were no exception,” Howe added in a statement. “Seeing students incorporate their cultures and passions into their masterpieces is what makes this scholarship competition so special each year.”
Cervantes concluded the video by offering some parting advice to duct tape tuxedo fans: “Remember.Stay stylish” he said with a smile, pointing at the camera.
You can watch a video of Cervantes making his tuxedo here By going hereYou can also see all of the 2024 winners, including the eight runners-up, here.
And based on his duct tape skills alone, we’ll probably be seeing Cervantes on Bravo’s “Project Runway” soon.
Cervantes is not afraid to boast about his achievements. [Photo via Shurtape Technologies]
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