What to know
- Duck Tape’s annual Stuck at Prom contest challenges high school students to create elaborate prom dresses and tuxedos using only the brand’s duct tape.
- The winning designer receives a US$10,000 scholarship, with additional prizes for finalists.In 2024, Dryden, Ont. student Monica Walsh won the grand prize with a pop art-inspired dress that took 126 hours and 13 rolls of tape to complete.
- Some entries use dozens of rolls of tape and hundreds of hours of work, transforming an everyday material into wearable art.
Most students spend months shopping for the perfect prom outfit.
Others spend months building one—entirely out of duct tape.
That’s the idea behind Duck Tape’s Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest, where high school students across Canada and the U.S. compete to transform rolls of colourful duct tape into elaborate dresses and tuxedos for a chance to win thousands of dollars in scholarships.
Founded in 2001, Duck Tape, a cloth-back tape brand that produces over 32 solid coloured and printed rolls of tape, challenged high school students to make prom outfits using only Duck Tape.
As part of the contest, creative teenagers compete for a $10,000 USD grand prize and several $1000 USD runner-up prizes.
In 2024, Monica Walsh, a Canadian teen from Dryden, Ont. won the grand prize for her pop art inspired prom dress, which she says took her 13 rolls of tape and 126 hours of labour.
Often, the prom dress and tuxedo creations can take upwards of 30 rolls of Duck Tape.
Allison Wills, a Senior Project Manager at Shurtape Technologies said the Stuck At Prom contest was established to showcase just how versatile Duck Tape could be, and to encourage students to be creative and think outside the box.
“What started as a simple crafting challenge has evolved into a platform for creativity, craftsmanship and self-expression, giving students the opportunity to turn an everyday material into wearable art while competing for scholarships,” Wills explained.
Since the first iteration of Stuck At Prom 26 years ago, students have continued raising the bar with their dresses and suits. Wills said she’s seen the wildest creations over the years, including everything from 18-century and baroque-inspired gowns to Vincent van Gogh creations, to aviation themed suits and pop art dresses.
For two examples of these creations, in 2025, a finalist made his tuxedo look like a suit of armour, complete with shoes, a saber sword, and a spear. In 2024, a prom dress finalist made her dress look like that of a 18th century French Rococo doll. She used a whopping 80 rolls of tape.
In previous years, students had to wear their tape creations to their actual prom in order to win. But now, Wills says, the contest focuses more on the “creativity and craftsmanship,” rather than making something wearable and fit a specific theme,
“The change makes participation more accessible and allows students to compete based on the quality and originality of their designs rather than attendance at a specific event.”
Duck Tape’s Stuck at Prom contest is open to all Canadian and American teenagers 14 years or older that are enrolled in high school or homeschooled. The rules can be found here.
