FML Fashion Spotlight: Martha Gibbs of Neubyrne
Martha Gibbs is a fashion stylist, creative director, and artist based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, whose work sits at the intersection of editorial fashion, art, and lived storytelling. Best known as the founder and creative force behind Neubyrne, Gibbs has built a distinctive visual world defined by bold color, sculptural silhouettes, and an intuitive, deeply personal approach to style.
With over 250,000 engaged followers and millions of monthly views across platforms, Gibbs has become a trusted voice in luxury fashion and creative entrepreneurship, translating runway-level concepts into aspirational, real-world narratives. Her work spans high-fashion styling, travel and brand campaigns, closet and personal styling services, and fine art, often blending all four into a single, cohesive vision.
Gibbs rose to national attention as a designer on Season 1 of Making the Cut, where her point of view stood out for its originality and emotional depth. Since then, she has expanded her career well beyond traditional fashion roles, positioning herself as a one-woman creative studio, styling, modeling, directing, and producing editorial-quality content for luxury fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands.
Her styling credits include high-profile collaborations with major fashion houses and talent, while her art practice explores themes of identity, resilience, femininity, and reinvention through large-scale mixed media, collage, and painting. Whether styling a client, creating an immersive editorial shoot, or producing collectible artwork, Gibbs approaches every project with the same ethos, fashion as expression, art as autobiography.
Through Neubyrne and her personal platform, Gibbs continues to redefine what it means to be a modern fashion creative, multidimensional, self-directed, and unapologetically visionary.
FML: Your work lives at the intersection of fashion, art, and storytelling. When did you first realize style could be a language for telling personal stories?
MG: Pretty early on, even before I had the words for it. I’ve always been someone who processes life visually, and clothing became a way to express things I couldn’t always explain. Over time I realized style can communicate emotion and experience just as clearly as language. I was an English Major in college, so I loved writing and storytelling. My work just encompasses multiple mediums to do that. So styling and being different with my style has really been at the forefront of everything-the way I write, the way I dress, the way I create art- all of it. Style was the way to show my own personality and my own flare.
FML: Neubyrne has such a distinct visual identity, bold, sculptural, emotional. How did that world take shape, and how much of it mirrors your own evolution?
MG: It really developed alongside my own life. The work became bolder as I became more comfortable trusting my instincts. I live for living loudly and so Neubyrne reflects a lot of my personal evolution, learning to take up space creatively and letting the work be emotional instead of overly polished. I love raw, unedited, intentionally messy or brokenness. That world has taken shape all around me and continues to unfold.
FML: You often describe fashion as expression and art as autobiography. What parts of yourself show up most clearly in your work right now?
MG: Resilience and curiosity. I’m interested in how people grow and reinvent themselves, and I think that theme naturally shows up in my work. I have reinvented myself more times than I could count, and that process is always so inspirational and wild and raw. It all has to do with your image right? How you see yourself, how you show yourself to the world, what you wear, what you post, what art you are drawn to etc. I think keeping a resiliency and curiosity in your work is super important. I always have to be ready to pivot at any moment.
FML: Your audience connects deeply to how personal your styling feels. How do you balance vulnerability with intention when sharing your creative process publicly?
MG: I try to share thoughtfully rather than reactively. And thoughtfulness can include spontaneity. Lots of it. I love to share inspirational art/styling/photography/quotes at random but all of it feeds into me just being me and sharing what I’m interested in at the time. People connect with that about me and my page, but it’s important to keep perspective and boundaries as well with it. What people see of me on there is a my Neubyrne persona and I love her very much. She is my alter ego.
FML: Appearing on Making the Cut introduced your work to a national audience. How did that experience change the way you see yourself as a designer and creative director?
MG: It taught me not to limit creativity to one lane. I’ve realized that storytelling can take many forms, and moving between mediums keeps the work fresh and exciting. It’s also really great to not put your own self in a box-that feels constricting. I am this. I do this. No. I can do many things and can change that at any time to be less or more. I like that.
FML: Since the show, you’ve stepped into what feels like a one-woman creative studio. What does creative autonomy mean to you at this stage of your career?
MG: It means being able to follow an idea from start to finish. I enjoy being involved in the full process because it helps the vision stay cohesive. And I like to wear many hats. The more hats the better. . It also allows me to execute the vision without too many cooks in the kitchen.
FML: You move fluidly between styling, modeling, directing, producing, and fine art. How do you decide which medium a story belongs in?
MG: Usually the idea suggests the medium. Some concepts feel like clothing, some feel like images, and others belong on canvas. Sometimes The idea is too big for just one and I need to explore it in all mediums to figure out which one communicates it the best. That’s where it gets really fun.
FML: Color plays such a powerful role in your visual language. What is your emotional relationship with color, and how do you use it to communicate mood or meaning?
MG: Color is one of my favorite things to play with and focus on in every medium. It is one of the easiest ways to communicate mood. I tend to choose it instinctively based on the feeling I want the piece or image to carry.
FML: Your art practice explores identity, resilience, femininity, and reinvention. Was there a specific life chapter that pushed you toward working on a larger, more tactile scale?
MG: I have always lived by the motto go big or go home- Johnny Tsunami. So it was always a question of how and when will I take this to the next level. Always leveling up and I don’t think that will ever stop.
FML: With hundreds of thousands of engaged followers, you’ve become a trusted voice in luxury fashion. How do you stay grounded and authentic as your platform grows?
MG: I stay focused on real life, my family, my studio, and the work itself. Social media is like my playground. I have a lot of fun playing in it and meeting people on the playground, but I also like to leave the playground and go home to real life and real people. It’s taken a long time to be able to do that and it feels good.
FML: You translate runway-level concepts into real-world narratives. What does wearability mean to you beyond clothes simply being functional?
MG: Wearability is a phrase that is kinda absurd to me. The most insane pieces are SUPER wearable if you are feeling up for it. Obviously some things are more easily put on for confidence and usually simpler items come to mind…. But not for me. If clothing gives someone confidence or helps them express themselves, then it’s wearable. 100000%.
FML: Collaboration is a major part of your work. What do you look for in brands or partners before saying yes to a project?
MG: Alignment and respect. The best partnerships happen when both sides value the creative process and fully TRUST that creative process to take the project where it needs to go- often times just being able to fully immerse yourself in it and have fun with it. Nothing too serious. If a potential partner sees the strengths in the way I work and create, then that’s a great beginning and probably will be a fruitful partnership.
FML: How do you define success now, compared to earlier in your career when you were still breaking into the industry?
MG: Success feels much simpler now, doing work I care about and building a life that feels balanced and meaningful. I am such a lover of creating art. And as long as I am working and creating things and connecting with people, I am super fulfilled. Success is way more about feeling the purpose of my work and fulfillment through it. And it’s not if I get X I will then be successful. That was toxic for me. No, I am successful when I am connecting with people who value the work and in turn are able to take whatever I do and make something else. Art begets Art.
FML: Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of Neubyrne, and what are you still dreaming of building that people haven’t seen yet?
MG: The ability to keep evolving and creating absolutely insane pieces. I’m excited to keep exploring the intersection of fashion, art, and storytelling. Possibilities are endless!!!
FML: What’s your message to the world?
MG: Cultivating joy is the best act of service you can do for yourself and others. Trying to remain joyful is probably the biggest quest of my life because it touches every important aspect of life. Finding what brings you joy and actively making time for that would be the best advice I could ever give anyone.
At her core, Martha Gibbs is not just building a brand or a body of work, she is building a world. One where fashion is felt as much as it is seen, where art holds memory and movement, and where reinvention is not just encouraged but required. In an industry that often demands definition, Gibbs resists confinement, choosing instead to evolve in real time, across mediums, identities, and expressions. And as Neubyrne continues to expand, so does the scope of what is possible, not just for her, but for anyone watching closely.
Martha’s #FMLFaves
Favorite song: sorry for the wait – lil Wayne
Favorite movie: Man on Fire
Favorite Dish: steak Frites
What’s in your bag: exploding. Everything. More makeup than I need for a year, kids snacks, mints, 5 pairs of sunglasses, mase, Multiple panic buttons, headphones, and fat stacks of cash just in case
