Peyton Manker
“The world can be cruel at times, but through my experience, the good always outweighs the bad!”
💜PEYTON MANKER @PEY_MANK
🧡LOCATION: SPARTA, ILLINOIS
💛PHOTO BY: SUZY MANKER
🖤BLACK ”TEARS” ITEM: SHIRT AND SAMMY
💙SKIRT BY: INDIE TRUE @INDIE_TRUE_
💚FOLLOW @TEARSANDTULLE
🎤IN PEYTON’S WORDS...
I was asked by the lovely Gina Bell to join the Tears and Tulle Movement a bit later in the game. It was all based on luck that their was a scheduling change and Gina just happened to find me on social media, allowing me to become a participant in this wonderful movement!
At first I thought, "Why on earth should I be a part of this? Everyone is so accomplished in their work and all I did was make a dress!" But after reading everyone's struggles they faced (and may still be facing) to get where they are, I began to understand the true meaning of the skirt and my part in this movement.
Wearing the skirt made me feel as though my dress was a true accomplishment having touched so many people in the world, and also made me realize that I should acknowledge that it IS in fact an accomplishment despite anything anyone says. The world can be cruel at times, but through my experience, the good always outweighs the bad!
Having already inspired young girls around the world to follow their dreams, the skirt has inspired me to spread even more love and encouragement to everyone struggling to accomplish their dreams.
It has also inspired me to possibly make more duct tape art in the future while touching the hearts of people from all walks of life! Because, no matter your life experience, we all have struggles to overcome just as all these wonderful women have taught me.
I still have a long way to go in my life with many more accomplishments ahead of me and I wish anyone reading this luck in their lives as well and I would like them to know they will always have me rooting for them every step of the way!
(P.S. My dog wishes you all luck as well! And yes, Sammy is wearing an adorable matching duct tape skirt made by yours truly!😄)
About Peyton…
Hi! I'm Peyton Manker. I was one of many high school students that graduated during this pandemic (and won't be the last, unfortunately😫). During my senior year, I decided to enter the duct tape company, Duck Brand, Stuck At Prom scholarship contest, where participants are required to design and create their prom attire out of duct tape.
When the pandemic hit, I decided to center my dress design around the events occurring at the time, such as social distancing, virtual high school graduations, mental illness, and the general state the world was in and is still in. I am grateful to have touched so many people's lives during this time through my designs. With the help of people from around the world, I ended up winning the competition with a total of $10,000 in scholarship money!
My dress is planned to be donated to the Smithsonian Institution for their new COVID-19 exhibit. As for what I will do with the scholarship money, I am planning to attend Southern Illinois University of Carbondale and graduate with a major in Architecture and minor in History.