Here’s how one fashion designer overcame all odds to make a name for himself in the fashion world.
Joel Alvarez, who was born and raised in Miami, caused a stir at this year’s New York Fashion Week after covering models on the runway in barely-there tape ensembles.
But the first-generation Cuban hasn’t always lived such a high-profile lifestyle, having previously spent months “living out of his car” without having “a dollar to his name.”
Here FEMAIL traces its transformation from poverty to global fashion fame.
Born and raised in Miami, Joel Alvarez has overcome all odds to make his mark in the fashion world
The designer caused a stir at this year’s New York Fashion Week after draping models in barely-there tape ensembles on the runway
Joel Alvarez was at the “lowest point” of his life when he hit a stroke of luck
In 2008, Alvarez was living in his car struggling to support himself in what he described as “the lowest point of his existence.”
He said most of his family had passed away, but he inherited a “small, run-down property” that was “not fit for living”.
The designer continued, “The house smelled like a wet dog. It had pink colored water that came out of the bathtub when I flushed the toilet and there were holes in the roof the size of a microwave.
But the first-generation Cuban hasn’t always lived such a high-profile lifestyle, having previously spent months “living out of his car” without having “a dollar to his name.”
Alvarez became New York Fashion Week’s most scandalous designer after sending models down the runway this week in tiny pieces of duct tape
“I mean, I could literally see the sky from the living room. I fell to my knees and looked up at the night sky and cried. I asked what did I do to get dragged so deep into the ground?’
But while cleaning the apartment, he miraculously discovered a box in the closet that contained $26,000.
He found the money had belonged to his late grandfather, who put it away for a rainy day in the late ’60s but never spent it.
“After many years of what I considered “the toughest era” of my life, I quickly used the means to correct my debt and change my life,” he continued.
Pictured: Models walk the runway at the Black Tape Project swimwear event in 2021, which featured shades of purple, black and emerald in the metallic body tape
Now, Alvarez has become a staple of New York Fashion Week, regularly wowing crowds with his incredibly daring tape ensembles. Pictured: Models wear his designs at New York Fashion Week 2022
He’s also turned his fashion week appearances into a lucrative venture, selling tickets to his shows for up to $999 a piece for a VIP backstage experience (pictured at Miami Swim Week in 2018).
“First I installed a new roof 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 of money seems like a fortune, but I quickly realized that $26,000 wouldn’t be enough these days.”
He said he put his last $1,500 into buying a camera, which ultimately sparked his career as a fashion designer.
The designer started his career in the fashion world – and it progressed rapidly
With his new camera, Alvarez began photographing some of the women who worked at his local Hooters before he began connecting with Miami models through Myspace.
Within months he was being published in local magazines and continued to work his way up the ladder, eventually shooting for big outlets like Maxim and Playboy – still with the original Canon he bought with his grandfather’s money.
“One day an out of town model booked me for a shoot and at our last look she pulled out a roll of tape and asked me to film her,” he explained.
“I had no idea where to start or what to expect. So I just jumped head first and started recording them.
Alvarez began working with local dancers at clubs in Miami and explained that he started working “three or four nights a week” and taking on up to six women
Speaking of his inspiration, Alvarez (pictured in 2021 during Miami Swim Week) said, ‘One day a model from out of town booked me for a shoot and on our last look she pulled out a roll of duct tape and asked me to film her’
“The design was so incomplete and extremely tight. She looked like the Michelin Man who lost a fight with rubber bands.
“But I stuck with it because I kept seeing lines and discovered the ability to complement the body by adding lines and creating negative spaces that appealed to the viewer.”
From there, Alvarez began working with local dancers at clubs in Miami, explaining that he started working “three or four nights a week” and taking on up to six women.
“I had to work fast and make designs that wouldn’t fall apart dancing, this is where I developed most of my technique,” he continued.
Within a few years, the designer shot to viral fame when he worked on a shoot with a former Miss Puerto Rico at a charity event in 2017.
After Alvarez posted a video of a former Miss Puerto Rico on his tape, he was inundated with requests to showcase his work (pictured on the TV show Arrebatados in 2017).
Alvarez decked her out with a gold tape ensemble, a process he documented in a social media video that quickly attracted tens of millions of viewers and earned him a new legion of fans.
“The calls and emails started pouring in and my life changed again,” he recalls.
“It is safe to say that the Black Tape Project saved my life and I am now able to provide for my family, my circle and myself.”
Alvarez is now thriving in the spotlight — charging fans $999 a piece for VIP experiences at his shows
Now, Alvarez has become a staple of New York Fashion Week, regularly wowing crowds with his incredibly daring tape ensembles.
He’s turned his fashion week appearances into a lucrative venture, selling tickets to his shows for up to $999 a piece for a VIP backstage experience.
The designer also sells rolls of his signature body tape in different colors on his website.
Now Alvarez has become a staple of New York Fashion Week (pictured on the runway at his 2018 show).
“King of Tape” Joel Alvarez will create the minimalist swimwear designs he’s become famous for live on stage – using just a roll of black duct tape – at the Faena Forum in Miami Beach in 2021
The designer (pictured on stage at New York Fashion Week in 2022) also sells rolls of his signature body tape in different colors on his website
The most basic black hue starts at $9.99 per roll, while the livelier options — including metallic gold, blue, and pink — go up to $29.99 each.
But Alvarez doesn’t limit his art form to just runway models.
He had previously been invited to Vienna to record legendary supercars – the Ferrari 488 Spider and the Lamborghini Urus – in the Gumball 3000 road rally.
There he won the award for Best Foil Design before being offered a collaboration with Miami-based Lamborghini to record the 2020 Miami Art Basel debut of the Karma Revero 2.0.
But Alvarez doesn’t limit his art form to just runway models — and has even taped supercars in recent months
In a previous interview shared on Instagram, Alvarez said of his journey, “I’ve always been more of an artist than a businessman.
“And now I’m a really good businessman because I learned it the hard way.
“I remember my friends telling me you need 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 how I think my passion comes from my art and how I am comes a lot from the past that I’ve been through. ‘