Great Neck's Jessica Ong Creates Dress From Duct Tape for Chance to Win $15,000 Scholarship

It took 34 rolls of duct tape to create the butterfly-themed prom dress that Jessica Ong of Great Neck entered into a contest to win a $15,000 college scholarship.

The 17-year-old's piece was chosen as one of five finalist dresses in Ohio-based brand Duck Tape's 24th annual Stuck at Prom Scholarship Competition; the overall winner, determined by two weeks of online voting at stuckatprom.comwas announced on Wednesday.

Although she didn't win the grand prize, Ong, a senior at Great Neck North High School, took home a $1,000 prize for the elaborate winged dress that honors her Malaysian grandmother, who died in March at age 95. She spent nearly 100 hours creating the dress using dark blue, teal, white, gold and black ribbon.

“I wanted to represent my grandmother’s grace and beauty,” Ong says of her paternal grandmother, whom she visited in Malaysia. “Whenever I was there, she was always very positive. She had good energy.” In many cultures, the butterfly symbolises love and life, Ong says.

Monica Walsh of Dryden, Ont., won the grand prize for her colourful gown inspired by Brazilian artist Romero Britto. The competition also included a tuxedo category, and that grand prize went to Isaac Cervantes of Pilot Point, Texas, whose creation resembled a mariachi costume and included a duct-tape sombrero.

IF AT THE BEGINNING . . .

This is Ong’s second year in the competition. Last year, her entry was “way too simple,” she says; she only used red and white tape and created flowers. When she saw the finalists in 2023, she knew she had to aim higher and try again to succeed, she says.

She was motivated, she says, by her love of arts, crafts and fashion, but also by the opportunity to earn money for her studies. She has no specific college plans yet; she will apply in the fall.

“It’s a bit of a shame,” Ong says of not winning the top prize, “but it was a great experience overall.” Ong says she enjoyed the media coverage on television and in local newspapers.

Her quest began with a sketch of a pattern on her iPad. Then she worked after school and on weekends in her family’s living room, using a mannequin, a skirt frame and plastic wrap to form the skeleton of the dress, with the tape as the “fabric.” “There was a lot of trial and error,” she says. “There are a lot of air bubbles and wrinkles. You just have to be very careful.”

SURPRISE AT STARBUCKS

Ong said she was at a Starbucks on June 25, waiting to meet a friend for a beach date, when she received an email telling her she was one of five finalists. “I was just thrilled,” she said, and her first move was to call her parents immediately.

“She worked very hard; I was very impressed,” said Ong's mother, Helen Chen, 51, who works in real estate.

Finalists were chosen from 150 submissions, and judges evaluated the designs for quality of workmanship, originality, use of color, use of tape and use of accessories such as purses or earrings, said Duck Tape spokesperson Caitlyn Ward. Duct tape is commonly used for home and car repairs. Duck Tape is a brand of duct tape.

FIGHTING FOR VOTES

Online voting was held until July 10 to determine the grand prize winners in the gown and tuxedo categories. Ong said her friends and family here posted messages on social media and her family in Malaysia also spread the word. All finalists received $1,000.

Ong attended both the junior and senior proms this year, but she didn't wear the dress. Duck Tape dropped that pageant requirement several years ago, Ward said, because the costumes can be heavy and hot to dance in.

For now, Ong’s dress is folded in her living room. She plans to ship it to DuckTape’s headquarters and hopes the company will display it with the other 2024 finalists.

Will she return to school next year? “We'll see how the last year goes,” she said.

Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and things to do with kids on Long Island. She is a former Newsday staff editor and shared Newsday's 1997 Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the TWA Flight 800 crash.