A teen made a coronavirus-themed prom dress out of 41 rolls of duct tape
- In January, Peyton Manker decided she was going to enter Duck Brand's "Stuck at Prom" contest and create a dress made entirely from duct tape.
- Originally, Manker was going to make a dress dedicated to her favorite artists, but she decided to create a coronavirus-related look instead.
- Manker told Insider it took over 395 hours and a total of 41 rolls of duct tape to make the off-the-shoulder gown and matching accessories.
Peyton Manker had no idea her design would end up going viral when she decided to enter Duck Brand's "Stuck at Prom" scholarship contest in January.
Participants of the contest were asked to make their own prom outfits out of Duck Brand duct tape, and wear them for their chance to win a $10,000 scholarship in cash.
Originally, Manker was going to make a dress dedicated to her favorite artists, like Leonardo da Vinci, but after the coronavirus pandemic hit and both her prom and graduation were canceled, the 18-year-old decided to switch things up.
"I decided to make the dress based on the pandemic because I knew no one in the competition was going to be able to re-create it," Manker told Insider. "I knew I would stand out in that way and wanted to base it off of what was happening in the world."
Manker used 41 rolls of duct tape to make the off-the-shoulder gown.
The mostly blue dress features coronavirus-related scenes, including a virtual graduation, frontline workers wearing masks, and people from around the world trying to run away from the virus.
In the middle of the gown, Manker designed a man with a confused thought bubble above his head that she said is supposed to represent everyone who's struggling with mental health during this time.
"The entire dress is supposed to represent the pandemic in a positive light," Manker said. "I don't want people to think about the dress as just trying to show a moment in history. It is a representation that we got through it."
Manker estimates that it took her more than 395 hours to make the gown.
To go along with the dress, she created a "Flatten the curve" face mask, an anklet that says "This too shall pass," hairpins that say "Separately together," a bouquet of toilet paper rolls, and a coronavirus purse.
"I made all of these for aesthetic reasons but also to remind people that the pandemic will eventually pass and we are still all in this together," she said.
Manker's mom posted her daughter's creation on Facebook, and it has been shared over 253,000 times at the time of writing.
The Illinois teen told Insider on June 30 that she had been selected as one of the Duck Brand's top-scoring finalists, so people can now vote for her creation on the brand's website. Community voting is open until July 10, and the final winners will be announced on July 21.
Manker's creation is now propped up on a mannequin in her living room, but that wasn't always the case. Before she was lent the mannequin by a local store, Manker had to put the dress on herself and enlist her dad's help to tie the hoops underneath the dress all together.
If Manker wins the contest, she is planning to use the money to help pay for college.
"I didn't even think anyone besides the people in my hometown would see my dress, and now people from all over the world are contacting me," Manker said. "I don't even know how to react to it. It feels surreal to me."
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