When Jerri Moore presented her first-ever runway show at Fashion Houston last year, she was predictably wide-eyed with excitement about her moment in the spotlight.

Moore again was a featured designer at this year's edition of Fashion Houston, and while she was thrilled to showcase her spring 2013 collection on the last night of the fashion extravangaza, she exuded an air of confidence and calmness that was, frankly, missing in her earlier show.

Her new attitude showed in her designs, which exhibited a more seasoned maturity, and even in her kicky new punk hairstyle.

"I feel more comfortable in my own skin and more confident in how I'm designing. I hope that shows from collection to collection," Moore said afterwards, while receiving congratulations from wellwishers. "This collection was by far, the hardest for me. I wanted to keep it fresh but still keep it Jerri Moore. I love clean lines because that works on everyone."

Moore admitted that creating this collection — her fourth —was particularly challenging because it forced her to throw out old notions of doing things. "It seemed like the designs did not translate so well from the paper to the body, so I ditched four or five dresses and then built from there," she said.

Moore's latest collection includes her trademark items, like billowing long evening skirts with pockets, chic blouses and satin gowns. But she experimented with colors, featured a more subdued palate of champagne, burgundy and dusty rose, and introduced interesting abstract prints and leopard patterns. Particularly eyecatching was a long skirt and pantsuit in a black-and-metallic gold jacquard fabric.

"I'm playing with different fabrics, trying to see what works," she said, noting the jacket she was wearing. "I finished it two days ago. This is my first menswear fabric, it's linen silk. I'm stepping out a little bit, trying different things."

As she grows her collection, Moore remains loyal to her supporters. She used many of the same models in the show that she were in her previous show and at trunk shows because "I feel like they are family," she said.

And, during her runway walk, she made a stop to thank her manufacturer, Gregory Fourticq, who sat in the front row. "I feel so lucky to manufacture here. I'm there (at the factory) every day. I'm very hands on. Greg is amazing," she said.

Moore says her growth is slow and steady, with sales through her website and at such stores as Tootsies, Elizabeth Anthony Esther Wolf and Julian Gold in San Antonio and Corpus Christi. She has a showroom representative in Los Angeles and plays forays to Atlanta and Louisiana.

"I've only been a brand for a year, so I feel comfortable with the way that it's grown," she said. "I want to maintain the quality of the clothing that Greg and I are manufacturing and producing. I think that's really important because that is what is going to keep you in the stores."