Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Gibson.
Hi Lauren, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As an award-winning designer, it has been an adventure. This business took its own path when in 2021, I made a few custom pieces for red-carpet events to promote my boutique. The rest is history.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have faced a few challenges of adversity, but I believe that this fueled my fire instead of backing me down. Not everyone is going to like you or what you are doing or believe in the same platform that you do, but for every person who doesn’t like you, there are ten more who appreciate you and cheer you on.
My best advice is to stay focused on the path you are on and the rest is just background noise. Keep going and don’t give up.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Hello, my name is Lauren Gibson and I am the award-winning designer behind The Rhinestoned Gypsy. I am a God-fearing wife and mother of 2 and currently live on a hobby goat farm in a one-stoplight town in South Carolina.
My background in Yeehaw fashion is deeply rooted in Southern culture and is centered around rodeos, barefoot horseback riding, and . I like to claim I specialize in yeehaw couture- where modern trends meet Western culture, and the sparkles and fringe don’t stop.
By creating designs inspired by Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker, and Reba, I feel like it’s my duty to carry on the yeehaw legacy of fashion from the greatest women of my time. Incorporating western design elements with each piece – it also carries on the legacy of trailblazers and what has created America as we know it. Rhinestones and fringe have always been my kryptonite and I have brought that love to all of my designs as a major element.
Each piece I create is one of a kind. I have no desire to go to manufacturing and I think the uniqueness of that idea, is what sets me apart from others. Right now, we are custom order only but I do have some ready-to-wear pieces from past runway shows and photoshoots available for purchase.
This year, I won Emerging Designer of the Year for Greenville Fashion Week, and what an achievement this was for my brand. The love has been overpouring and I’m forever blessed by it.
My goal with this brand is to continue to create art through fashion and reach as many women as I can to inspire them that fancy clothes don’t make them beautiful. I am on a roll of capturing the Western culture and introducing it to the mainstream by way of print and runway. “Yeehaw” culture is a state of mind and I welcome you to this side of the aisle.
I hope my brand can help bring “agcocacy” to mainstream through fashion. Agriculture advocacy is very dear to my heart. You don’t need to be a generational rancher to speak up on behalf of American Agriculture. I feel it’s very important to continue to support our American farmers and ranchers and being able to use fashion as a doorway for people to ask questions is truly rewarding. I will always encourage and support our FBA, 4H, farmers, and ranchers in all ways possible.
Fashion is so much more than just fabric and you are not limited by the beige clothing sold to you by fast fashion. I like to think of fashion as a walking piece of art brought to life by the person wearing them. And it’s pretty magical. The best advice I can give to any aspiring artist is no one is stopping you, but you.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
It is never too late to start – but you have to start- so start anywhere. There is nothing holding you back but you. It will take some time, patience, and a lot of elbow grease, but as long as you are willing to put in the work- the outcome will be worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: Therhinestonedgypsy.square.site
- Instagram: Instagram.com/therhinestonedgypsy
- Facebook: Facebook.com/therhinestonedgypsy
- Other: https://linktr.ee/therhinestonedgypsy
Image Credits
@jhawke_photography and @opamengo
