Hemp Hemp Hooray

A collection displaying energy and innovation gave Samantha Jean Moore the win at the Sarah Jane Estes Sustainable Fashion Competition at the Future of Fashion (FOF) 2022 event this past August in Lexington.

Written by Bridget Williams

A 4th generation seamstress, Samantha Jean Moore, who taught herself to sew a decade ago, considers herself a fabric artist more than a fashion designer. She prefers to take vintage and recycled materials—from burlap to broken jewelry—to express her unique perspective, which is heavily rooted in sustainability and fair trade, ideas that firmly took root as a college student studying in Peru. "It was empowering to see craftspeople working with textiles respected for their calling, rather than in the United States, where that type of work is commonly viewed as a hobby."

Samantha Jean Moore with her 1st place design from Recycle the Runway 2018. Photo by Paul Atkinson and courtesy of the artist.

In the years before the pandemic, Moore sold her creations at local and regional festivals and markets. As those opportunities dried up, she pivoted to costume design. She's created a unique niche for herself, working with ACT Louisville, the Sayre School, and AthensWest Theatre Company in Lexington, among others.

While costume design helps pay the bills, Moore's true passion lies in exercising unrestricted creativity, which she clearly articulates in conversation: "Everyone has an abundance of clothing, and people donate clothes to me to work with, so I have this endless supply of materials. I grab what makes me feel inspired and work with it. Sometimes I get nervous about not being structured or businesslike enough, but I have to honor my energy level and happiness. Following a natural flow means success, not chasing money or achievement. It requires a different level of discipline to seize the energy when it's there and use it until it's gone. Staying dedicated to what's best for me helped me make it through my 'starving artist' days to create a lifestyle that works."

Top: Samantha Jean Moore modeling her creation for KMAC Couture 2022 © Clay Cook 2022 and courtesy of the artist / Bottom: Samantha Jean Moore. Photo by Keng Xiong.

Moore has been involved with the Future of Fashion since its inception, volunteering as a model for the event's inaugural runway show in the early 2000s. In 2020, when the sustainable design competition, and it's focus on hemp fiber, was originally announced, Moore said that she had a difficult time finding hemp fabric, a conundrum even more interesting given that Kentucky was the greatest producer of hemp in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. An online post seeking help connected her with Faith Erickson, co-founder of Kentucky Hempsters, a hemp advocacy organization. She provided Moore with 15 hemp fiber and organic cotton t-shirts and raw hemp fibers harvested from her plot at the Henry Clay Estate.

Photo by Tony Bailey

As contest rules prevented designers from modeling, Moore selected Erickson and Gentille Ntakarutimana to bring her two-look collection—ready-to-wear and couture— to life. The epitome of a free-thinker, Moore said she made her winning looks just four days before the runway show. Employing a couture draping method, she laid the t-shirts on the models and began cutting and pinning, being conscious to make the materials' original purpose clearly discernable.

She envisioned her "forward-thinking" ready-to-wear look, modeled by Erickson, as ideal for outdoor festivals or, as she wrote in an Instagram post, "slaying your enemies in a post-apocalyptic world." The Goddess Demeter, the guardian of the fields and fertility, was cited as the inspiration for her couture look, which also incorporated "wings" made from hemp fibers (and assembled the morning of the competition) and petticoats recycled from old wedding gowns. "Prom and wedding gowns are a symbol of femininity that represent softness and being demure, so I enjoy chopping them up and reusing them to reclaim and redefine my ideas of femininity," explained Moore.

Photo by Paul Martin

Each participating designer had three minutes for theirrunway presentation, and Moore seized the opportunity to displayher talents as an artist, carefully choreographing every second.The music she selected was a chant performed by an indigenouswoman's choir. "To me, it's soft, organic, and beautiful, but withthis raw energy that announces, 'I am here to make space formyself.'" In keeping with this, Moore coached Erickson to embodythe notion that she was a "warrior and guardian" who made way for the more ethereal Ntakarutimana.

Accepting the winner's trophy from Lexington artist Kiptoo Tarus. Photo by Tony Bailey

For Moore, the runway transcends fashion, saying, "I have a message I want to convey, and fabric is just one medium. Expressing a message and inviting an audience to participate is much more important to me. I love storytelling and have a narrative I want to share." sl

To learn more about Samantha Jean Moore, visit mococolex.com; depop.com/mococo, or follow her on Instagram @mococolex & @major_anthem.