A designer who brings new meaning to the phrase ‘less is more’ has shown off his latest swimwear collection – made entirely from adhesive tape.
‘King of Tape’ Joel Alvarez founded fashion brand Black Tape Project back in 2008 and uses a spectrum of different tapes – including mirrored and metallics – to create the out there designs.
His latest collection saw models striding down the runway at Faena Forum in Miami beach on Saturday night, with Alvarez creating some of his more simple designs live in front of the FROW audience.
The Miami-based designer, who claims the designs he makes use the ‘only skin-safe artistic body tape’, created minimalist looks aplenty for last night’s show.
The limited edition collection saw plenty of colour, with metallic mosaics featuring heavily in Alvarez’s new crop of bold designs.
The models striding down the catwalk paired the daring looks with towering platform sandals and walked on a wet-look runway.
Alvarez sells his tape online with prices starting from $9.99 for a simple black tape and $29.99 for more colourful rolls.
On the Black Tape Project website, Alvarez explains how his brand came to be after deciding to use the tape on a model one day more than a decade ago.
He says: ‘One day in 2008 I was a rookie pH๏τographer who was working with a model that suggested I use electrical tape on her for the last look.
‘I honestly had no idea why she would want this but to make her happy I attempted to use this tape as wardrobe.
‘Essentially I just wrapped her in black electrical tape! Mind you she looked like 2 Christmas hams wrapped in rubber bands when I was done!’
Amongst the designs that made it to the catwalk were a shimmering emerald barely-there creation slashed down below the navel and another model showed off her derriere covered in a simple diamond design, constructed from just four pieces of black tape.
Alvarez says he now travels the world showing off and creating new designs with his range of tapes calling it an ‘artistic medium’.
The Black Tape Project has been in high demand across the globe, he claims, with Alvarez saying he regularly gets asked to appear at festivals and nightclubs with his bold designs.
Designer Joel Alvarez says that he first got the idea for using tape from a model, saying: ‘One day in 2008 I was a rookie pH๏τographer who was working with a model that suggested I use electrical tape on her for the last look. I honestly had no idea why she would want this but to make her happy I attempted to use this tape as wardrobe.’
