Florida teen's incredible duct tape prom dress could win her major college scholarship: Check it out

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida teenager made her own prom dress almost entirely out of duct tape -- and now her elaborate design could land her a huge college scholarship.

Ziqin Chiodi, of Orange County, Florida, is one of five finalists in Duck Brand's 2023 "Stuck At Prom" scholarship contest. Nearly 200 people entered the contest, which tasked high schools to make their own prom dress or tuxedo – bows, corsage, and hair clips included - entirely out of duct tape.

"As I am a mix of my Asian roots and my American reality, this dress credits everything that makes me, as if my own costume," Chiodi said in her online application.

She wrote that she was inspired by the Tang and Qing dynasty clothing "as they sem to float without any wind," as well as herbalism and woodblock printing, a popular Chinese printing technique.

Her dress featured red, yellow, and black duct tape, including a red and yellow chrysanthemum flower in the center, as well as additional floral designs down the dress and along the sleeves.

She said the dress used 18 rolls of Duck-branded tape and took her some 100 hours to make.  

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HOW TO VOTE

A team of judges narrowed the entries to five finalists in the dress and tux categories.

People can now vote for the finalists at https://www.duckbrand.com/stuck-at-prom/vote until July 12. To cast a vote, you need to enter your name and email address. You're allowed to vote once every 24 hours in both categories.

The design with the most votes in both categories will each receive a $10,000 college scholarship. The runners-up will each receive a $500 scholarship.

Voting ends July 12. The winners will be announced around July 19, a news release said.