It was a week before her college graduation when Martha Gibbs Gottwald was involved in a near-fatal car accident. A student at Sewanee: The University of the South, she put her plans aside and spent the next year in rehabilitation trying to figure out what to do next.

Her time spent abroad in Paris had introduced her to the fashion world, and Gottwald soon realized this was the industry she wanted to join. Gottwald decided against both law school and the Peace Corps; she partnered with an ethical supply chain, Fashion4Freedom, which employs women artisans in rural Vietnam, and started her fashion line, Neubyrne.

“I wanted to give people an intersection of outrageous fashion that was more than just the product, but instead told a story about how that garment improved someone else’s livelihood and wellbeing,” says Gottwald.

The story doesn’t end here. Neubyrne’s next show will take place in Richmond, Virginia, and will benefit the World Pediatric Project.

To learn more about Martha Gibbs Gottwald and Neubyrne, read this story from the April issue of inRegister, on newsstands now.