Models hit New York Fashion Week runway wearing nothing but body tape

Models wowed on the runway at the New York Fashion Week, but the Black Tape Project left very little to the imagination.

Talk about a strips show.

New York Fashion Week (NYFW) fast became NSFW during the Angel Orensanz Foundation fete on Sunday, where the boobies and bits of buxom models were barely covered by thin slices of tape, reports the New York Post.

“In a world full of sheep, be the mighty dragon that roars fearlessly,” wrote the self-crowned “king of tape,” fashion designer Joel Alvarez, in the Instagram caption of a post featuring his adhesively haute handiwork on the New York Fashion Week stage.

Voluptuous models turned heads during Joel Alvarez’s NYFW show Sunday. Picture: Black Tape Project Fashion Show BACKGRID Australia

Mr Alvarez masterfully uses tape to accentuate the natural curves of a woman’s body. Picture: Black Tape Project Fashion Show BACKGRID Australia

The nonconformist fashion trendsetter has wowed with his sticky designs for several years. Picture: Black Tape Project Fashion Show BACKGRID Australia

Mr Alvarez copped to initially failing at his tape artistry during the dawn of his career in fashion. Picture: Black Tape Project Fashion Show BACKGRID Australia

In the clickable clip, which has caused over 50,000 bulging eyes to become glued to social media screens, Mr Alvarez — the Miami-based creator of the Black Tape Project — intricately lays sticky strips onto a curvy catwalker’s full breasts, hips, thighs and privates for a fashion show audience of awe-struck onlookers.

Buffs of his nearly in-the-buff numbers report spent upward of USD$999 ($1548) for VIP passes, which included backstage access.

Strutters down Mr Alvarez’s risqué runway wowed in complex patterns of black, neon green, iridescent and pink pieces that finely flattered the female frame.

While a handful of looks highlighted the hourglass figures with artful lines that resembled bandage-style lingerie, others stunned with mosaic-inspired sultriness.

With supple skin on shameless display, Mr Alvarez is no stranger to stealing the NYFW spotlight.

In fact, a posh albeit unanticipated wardrobe faux pas earned the tongue-in-cheek tastemaker viral acclaim after his 2022 showcase.

The onstage oopsie came as the creative — whose work has been lauded by the A-lister likes of Billy Ray Cyrus and Rick Ross and featured in the glossy folds of Maxim and Playboy — celebrated 15 years of outré styling.

Tape fashion has taken off among haute VIPs such as Kim Kardashian, Julia Fox and Nicki Minaj. Picture: Black Tape Project Fashion Show BACKGRID Australia

Fans of Alvarez’s fashions were said to have shelled out nearly $1,000 for exclusive tickets to his most recent show. Picture: Black Tape Project Fashion Show BACKGRID Australia

The trendsetter’s longstanding success notwithstanding, his tape couture debut didn’t quite stick the landing.

“I had [no] idea where to start,” admitted Mr Alvarez via his website. “The design was so incomplete and extremely tight.”

“She looked like the Michelin Man who lost a fight with rubber bands,” the visionary continued of his prototype design. “[But] I kept at it because I kept seeing lines and I found the ability to compliment the body by adding lines and creating negative spaces that called to the viewers.”

And owing to his influence, tape has become the pseudo fabric of choice for the stars.

Kim Kardashian, 43, shook social media to its core by rocking head-to-toe body tape for Balenciaga during 2022 Paris fashion week. Her sticky slay even inspired The Post to give the ensemble a whirl.

Julia Fox, Nicki Minaj and a host of other Hollywood “It” hotties have also donned the tacky slivers to protect their modesty while turning heads on the scene.

Mr Alvarez hopes his bawdy brainchild continues living long beyond his years.

“I know the body tape art genre is here to stay longer than I will be alive,” he said, “and if I haven’t achieved it yet, that will be my greatest goal.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Models hit New York Fashion Week runway wearing nothing but body tape