Taping a risk! Models bare all as they walk the runway wearing nothing but body tape at New York Fashion Week

A designer appearing at New York Fashion Week led models down the catwalk wearing nothing but body tape.

Joel Alvarez, creator of the Black Tape Project, presented his spirited Fall 2024 collection, powered by Art Hearts Fashion, at the Angel Orensanz Foundation yesterday.

Not for the faint-hearted: the flesh-colored series is made entirely of body tape, in black, neon green and baby pink, leaving little to the imagination.

Alvarez, born and raised in Miami, has worked with numerous celebrities such as Billy Ray Cyrus and Afrojack, as well as major nightclubs in Miami and Ibiza.

However, the first-generation Cuban American hasn’t always led such a high-profile lifestyle; he previously “lived out of his car” for months without “a dollar to his name.”

Body-diverse models freshly shot by Alvarez walked confidently down the Angel Orensanz Foundation runway on Sunday.

The women showed off plenty of skin and showed off body tape strategically placed to conceal their modesty.

Strips of black, neon green, white and iridescent baby pink adorned their shapes and emphasized their natural curves.

Certain parts of the tape were intricately worked into ‘mosaics’, creating a unique crop top and monokini.

Meanwhile, other designs imitated bandage-inspired bodysuits and lingerie sets.

Alvarez’s unique concept allowed him to travel to 42 countries and work with numerous magazines, including Maxim and Playboy.

In 2008, Alvarez was living in his car and struggling to feed himself in what he described as “the lowest point of his existence.”

He said most of his family had died, but he inherited a “small, dilapidated property” that was “not suitable for living in.”

The designer continued, “The house smelled like wet dog. Pink water came out of the bathtub when I flushed the toilet, and there were holes in the roof the size of a microwave.

“I mean, I could literally see the sky from the living room. I fell to my knees, looked up at the night sky and cried. I asked what I did to be dragged so low into the ground?’

But while he was cleaning out the house, he miraculously discovered a box in the closet containing $26,000.

He discovered that the money had belonged to his late grandfather, who had stashed it away for a rainy day in the late 1960s but never spent it.

“After many years of what I considered ‘the toughest era’ of my life, I quickly put money to work in hopes of correcting my debts and turning my life around,” he continued.

‘I first had a new roof installed and paid off the Ford Focus I lived in. I partied a bit and gave money to my family and friends.

“When you’re young, that amount seems like a fortune, but I quickly realized that $26,000 wouldn’t last long in this day and age.”

He said he spent his last $1,500 on buying a camera, which ultimately launched his career as a fashion designer.

With his new camera, Alvarez began photographing some of the women who worked at his local Hooters before he began contacting Miami models through Myspace.

Within months he was published in local magazines and continued to work his way up, eventually shooting for major outlets like Maxim and Playboy – still using the original Canon he bought with his grandfather’s money.

“One day a model from out of town booked me for a shoot and on our last look she pulled out a roll of tape and asked me to record her,” he explained.

‘I had no idea where to start or what she expected. So I just jumped head first and started recording her.

‘The design was so incomplete and incredibly tight. She looked like the Michelin man who lost a battle with rubber bands.

“But I kept at it because I kept seeing lines and I discovered the ability to compliment the body by adding lines and creating negative spaces that spoke to the viewers.”

From there, Alvarez began working with local dancers in Miami clubs, explaining that he started working “three or four nights a week” recording up to six women.

‘I had to work quickly and create designs that wouldn’t fall apart when they danced. This is where I developed most of my techniques,” he continued.

Within a few years, the designer found himself gaining viral fame when he worked on a shoot with a former Miss Puerto Rico at a charity event in 2017.

Alvarez adorned her with a gold tape ensemble — a process he documented in a social media video, which quickly attracted tens of millions of viewers and earned him a new legion of fans.

“The phone calls and emails started pouring in and my life changed again,” he recalls.

“It’s safe to say that The Black Tape Project saved my life and now I can take care of my family, my environment and myself.”

Alvarez is now firmly in the spotlight, charging fans $999 each for VIP experiences at his shows

Now, Alvarez has become a fixture at New York Fashion Week, regularly wowing audiences with his incredibly daring tape ensembles.

He has turned his Fashion Week appearances into a lucrative business, selling tickets to his shows for up to $999 each for a VIP backstage experience.

The designer also sells rolls of his signature body tape in different colors on his website.

The most basic black shade starts at $9.99 per roll, while the more vibrant options – including metallic gold, blue and pink – cost up to $29.99 each.

But Alvarez doesn’t limit his art form to runway models.

He was previously invited to Vienna to take on legendary supercars – the Ferrari 488 Spider and Lamborghini Urus – at the Gumball 3000 street rally.

There he won the award for Best Wrap Design before being offered a collaboration with Miami-based Lamborghini to record the Miami Art Basel debut of the 2020 Karma Revero 2.0.

About his journey, Alvarez said in an interview shared on Instagram, “I have always been more of an artist than a businessman.

“And now I’m a very good businessman because I learned the hard way.

“I remember my friends telling me that you have to take off your artist hat and put on your business hat…

“But I don’t want to stop being an artist and I don’t want to change who I am and the way I think my passion comes from my art, and the way I am comes a lot from the past that I have. gone through’.