Goth – fashion’s darkest fairytale

It’s October – time to get that gothic dress and spooky make up on.

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear us fear of the unknown”. The quote is from H. P Lovecraft, an American writer of weird science, fantasy and modern horror fiction. In a world ravaged by wars and destruction it should surprise no one that fear of the unknown is the the zeitgeist of the moment. Not only is it evident in movies and TV-series but also on the runway, like Chanel FW 25/25 (below) and in the high street stores.

Goths find beauty in mysterious things that others consider diabolical: hauntings, spooks and black magic. Visually, it is inspired by Victorian romance and occultism, horror literature and film. As a subculture, the style originally grew out of punk rock in the UK in the early eighties. Characteristics then, as now, were predominantly black clothing and dramatic, dark make-up for all genders – think bands like Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Cure and Siouxie and the Banshees. Although it’s now been over 40 years since Robert Smith seduced the world with his distinctive voice and style of dress, pale skin and red lips, his fascination with this aesthetic has proved a stayer. What is it that makes it immortal?

“The boundaries which divide life from death are at best shadowy and vague”, wrote Edgar Allen Poe, and therein lays a lot of fascination for the most seductive gothic icon: the vampire – Nosferatu – the undead. In popular culture, vampires are dangerous, sexy and often very well dressed in garments reminiscent of the most lavish of haute couture. The late designer Alexander McQueen’s ability to see beauty in the macabre would no doubt make him Count Dracula’s and Lestat Delioncourt’s first choice. His theatrical catwalk shows in particular, ‘The girl who lived in a tree’, the legendary autumn and winter collection from 2008-09, was imbued with a gothic sensibility with hints of spirits, curses and eerie ghosts.

The autumn news from Dior and Chanel (above) picks up the thread. OK, so none can touch the incredible opulence of Alexander McQueen, but this year’s autumn and winter collections could have come straight out of the wardrobes of Count Dracula and Mina Harker: tops and dresses with ruffles, corsets with tight lacing, voluminous dresses and capes and hair adorned with bows. Add dramatic smoky eyes and blood-red lips – think Isabelle Adjani as Lucy Harker in Werner Herzog’s spine chillingy poetic ‘Nosferatu’ (1979).

Would you like to read more about gothic style Styletalk recommends:

 ‘Gothic. The Evolution of a dark subculture’ by Chris Roberts Hywel Livingstone and Emma Baxter-Wright takes you through history, from the Middle Ages to modern fashion and music.

‘Season Of The Witch’ by Cathi Unsworth – about how a generation of alienated youth created an enduring counterculture that steadfastly refuses to give up the ghost of goth.