Miami-based designer Drakhan Blackhart set the bar for risque runway shows by daring his models to bare it all, quite literally. The controversial designer does not use any ornate jewellery or fancy fabric to doll up his models. The show-stopping looks are all swimsuits that soar the temperature. They are not regular skin-baring swimsuits. In fact, it’s an understatement to call it merely ‘skin-baring’ when the swimsuit is made solely of tape.

Tape-swimsuits

The designer calls it the Black Tape Project. The swimsuit involves only tape as the material, covering up the private parts, while additional tapes are added for that extra flair to his designs. His designs are dramatic and sometimes the process of draping the model in the strips of tape is demonstrated live on the runway itself.

The models cover their private parts with patches, while the designer handles the additional design work with tape. The tape accentuates the curves and highlights the figures of the models. It is of special, medical grade, and safe to use on the skin. Blackhart also sells this special type of tape, available in numerous colours, designs, and patterns.

Liberating and free

Despite the frowns, the designer, dubbed ‘the King of Tape’, does not see his models as sex objects but rather as ‘living, breathing pieces of art.’ As per the Miami Herald’s report, even the models were elated to walk for him on the runway. They felt it was ‘liberating’ and ‘freeing’ to flaunt their features without any judgments. Drakhan Blackhart, previously known as Joel Alvarez, believed he revolutionised this form of body art. He visualises designs with his tapes and applies them strategically to enhance the beauty of the curves of the models.

On his website, Blackhart flexes his many collaborations over the years. "I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked with directors like Michael Bay (Pain and Gain) and recording artists like Rick Ross in several Maybach music videos including Maluma "la luz". I have also worked with Billy Ray Cyrus and some of the top DJs in the world such as Carl Cox, Chukie, Afrojack, Black Coffee to name just a few. I've also showcased at EDC Vegas, Ultra Miami and Singapore and every major nightclub in Miami, Ibiza and the Cannes Film Fest since 2014," he said.

He also mentions that he comes from humble beginnings and is a first generation Cuban American, born and raised in Miami. “In 2008 I was living in my car, struggling to feed myself with a lost my phone and not a dollar to my name.”

Then he landed on a small treasure, “I was blessed to find a box hidden in my late grandfather’s closet with over $26,000 in a cigar box neatly packed in envelopes that were dated monthly from Jan - Dec, 1968-1972. The bills were so old in some places that they didn’t look real and I could tell that they hadn’t seen the light of day in almost 40 years.”

“I first put in a new roof and paid off the Ford Focus I was living in. I partied a little and gave money to my family and friends. When you’re young, that amount of money seems like a fortune but I soon realized that 26k wouldn’t last long in this day and age. With my last $1500 I purchased a camera. I started shooting as much as I could on local cars and bikes for $100 here and there. As time went on and I began to develop my skills, I started working with local Miami models from Myspace, Model Mayhem and the girls from Hooters in my town.”

He also explained how he got into the taping art. “One day an out of town model booked me for a shoot and on our last look she pulled out a roll of tape and asked me to tape her. I had know idea where to start or what she was expecting. So again i just jumped head first and started taping her… Within a few years I was working at local Miami clubs taping 6 dancers, 3 or 4 nights a week. I had to work fast and make designs that wouldn’t fall apart when they danced, this is where I developed most of my techniques. 15 years later here I am. A self-taught photographer, artist, and entrepreneur. I've managed to make a business off of my ideas and concepts for almost 2 decades.”

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