‘Stick to it’: Mooresville teen shows his passion for music with tux made of duct tape

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – When you’re desperate to fix something, good old-fashioned duct tape comes in handy for all sorts of applications.

17-year-old Nicholas Moore became intimately familiar with the sticky stuff while crafting a suit and accessories for the Duck Brand Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest.

“You know when you do something so long you, you just eventually dream about it?” he asked.

Nicholas is one of just five national finalists in the tuxedo category of the annual contest.

Now that Moore has done the handy work, he needs online votes for a $15,000 grand prize. Voting continues until Wednesday, July 9.

His duct tape tuxedo design was inspired by his passion for music, which is always stuck in Moore’s head and his heart.

“The suit, I made a vest, a tie. I also made a shako. I wanted to incorporate a shako because that’s a major part in all marching bands,” he explained.

The rising senior at South Iredell High plays the French horn in the marching, concert, and jazz bands.

“I really love showing the emotion through each piece,” he said of the joy of interpreting music.
Since music and the band are part of the fabric of who he is, the theme of his contest entry made sense.

“Show the rest of the world my love for music and my passion,” he told Queen City News.

Sharp scissors were the key to becoming a sharp-dressed man. The lone North Carolina finalist used 42 rolls and logged 97 hours of work to create a clothing ensemble that fits him to a tee.

The showstopper is the French horn adorned with gold adhesive tape.

“French horns, there’s baritones, there’s mellophones, and trumpets,” he said, pointing at the detail in the vest. “I really wanted to incorporate all elements of the music into it.”

This has become a family DIY tradition. In 2020, his sister Emily made a dress for the Stuck at Prom contest, so Nicholas decided to roll out his own formal wear.

He’s currently making another horn and recording it so that he can document the arduous process.

The soon-to-be Eagle Scout says the moral of the story is that we should never duck a duct tape challenge.

“Making the suit, there was definitely a lot of things in scouting that helped me. Mainly just being able to know that I can do it,” says Moore.

“You should always keep going and you should never stop at any hindrance ever,” he says. “Yeah, stick to it.”