Space-themed duct tape tuxedo earns Priceville student a spot in the Stuck at Prom finals

By Catherine Godbey 

For the Enquirer  

Preparations for prom typically look the same — shop for dresses, rent tuxedos, choose accessories and buy corsages. 

Aidan Flangan’s preparations looked a little different. Instead of renting a tuxedo, the Priceville High School student opted to make his own outfit — out of duct tape. 

Using 21 rolls of colored duct tape, Flanagan, over the course of 92 hours, designed and created a ringmaster-style tuxedo complete with tails, a duct tape top hat, duct tape vest, duct tape pocket watch, duct tape rings, duct tape bow tie, duct tape shoes and duct tape cane. 

Accessories for Aidan Flanagan’s tuxedo included a top hat, vest, can, bow tie, pocket watch and shoes all made out of duct tape.

And, yes, he wore it to the high school dance. 

“Everyone loved it. I mean, it was a cool duct tape suit. Overall, a lot of people were pretty shocked. They thought it was funny and really enjoyed it,” the 17-year-old rising senior said. 

Flanagan’s space-themed design earned him a place as one of the 10 finalists to win Duck Tape brand’s Stuck at Prom $15,000 college scholarship. 

Individuals can vote for Flanagan to win the scholarship through Wednesday. 

Flanagan learned of the Stuck at Prom scholarship competition, which challenges high school students to handcraft their prom dresses or tuxedoes using duct tape, through his math teacher. 

“Mrs. Morris mentioned the scholarship. After looking at it, I thought, I’ll just go for it,” Flanagan said. “It was mainly the absurdity of making a duct tape suit that enticed me.” 

Prior to January, when Flanagan decided to enter the competition, his experience making items with duct tape was non-existent. And his background working with fabric consisted solely of making face masks during COVID and an apron during his year-long home-economics class. 

“This was a completely new experience for me. The project stressed me out a little bit, but I’m thankful I got an excuse to branch off from a monotonous school year and make a duct tape suit,” Flanagan said. “I had loads of fun trying to figure everything out.” 

Inspiration for the one-of-a-kind suit stemmed from Flanagan’s interest in space and his repeated visits to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. 

“Going to the Space & Rocket Center ever since I was young has given me an interest in the stars,” Flanagan said. “I decided to base the suit on my love for space. I needed the perfect design to capture the grandiose beauty of space. That’s why I thought of a ringmaster-style tuxedo.” 

To create the base of the suit, Flanagan took measurements of his waist and height. 

“I looked at templates online to find something I could edit to fit the style I wanted. I took lots of measurements. I had to go back and forth a lot because I had never done anything like that before and because duct tape is pretty hard to work with,” Flanagan said. 

After forming the base, Flanagan searched for celestial images to adorn the outfit. 

“I had this big back, so I figured I could put a nebula on the back. I found the Helix Nebula. I thought that would look really cool with all of its colors,” Flanagan said. 

To create the nebula, Flanagan cut out hundreds of squares of blue, white, orange, yellow, red and purple duct tape. 

“Getting the transitions was very difficult, but I think I pulled it off alright on my third try,” Flanagan said. 

Along the legs, arms, chest, top hat and surrounding the nebula on the back, Flanagan added cutouts of constellations using white duct tape. He used gold duct tape along the edge of the black suit and the black vest, added gold duct tape buttons, a gold duct tape bow tie and a gold duct tape pocket square. The only non-duct tape component of Flanagan’s three-piece suit was his black button-up shirt. 

Aidan Flanagan’s space-themed tuxedo included an image of the Helix Nebula and depictions of constellations.

“I had a whole lot of fun creating it. It was definitely created with lots of love,” Flanagan said. 

After graduation, Flanagan plans on pursuing a degree in civil engineering and then applying for the Peace Corps. 

The Stuck at Prom competition will award two $15,000 prizes, one for the best dress and one for the best tuxedo, and eight $1,000 runners up prizes. The other finalists’ outfits feature sombreros, kilts, parrots, purses and cage skirts all made out of duct tape. 

To vote for Flanagan, visit duckbrand.com/stuck-at-prom.