Style Series: Gothic Fashion

Punk, emo, goth. Today let's talk all about the dark side of the fashion world. Hoo on as I take this trip through the world of Gothic fashion!

Having emerged in the 18th or 19th century in the wake of the punk era, Gothic fashion is conspicuously dark, mysterious, antiquated and has been existing for almost three decades now. 

Easily identifiable with their dark forms of clothing, it has become an inspiration for different styles as well. 

Rather than just wearing dark clothing, the main desire is for them to stand out and not be considered too conformist in society. 

Some of the earliest influences of the origin of the goth subculture came out of the Romanticism movement centuries earlier. But it was in the recent times where British bands in the late 1970s, set the tone for the goth subculture, with icons such as David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Joy Division. But the original founders were former punks  Siouxsie and the Banshees, who included sinister tones  into their clothing towards the 1980s and Bauhaus who made a conscious emphasis on including funeral, macabre sounds and imagery into the legendary record "Bela Lugosi's Dead."

This dark and feminine aesthetic associated with these bands was taken up by fans everywhere and received a large media coverage. Due to this the Gothic fashion enjoyed an international exposure by the end of the 1980s. Throughout the 90s, the style subculture existed underground, and some occasional mass exposure from high profile celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and other big fashion brands. 

The Gothic fashion has a distinct style of dramatic silhouettes emulating Victorian mourning clothing, including flowing sleeves, long skirts, and corsets,  all, of course, in all black, and not to forget beautiful fabrics of lace, leather, and velvet. Their accessories were mainly silver, or studded and since in the earlier days most goth fashion wasn't widely available in stores, the wearers would make them themselves. 

But there is definitely much more to goth fashion than just this. The Gothic fashion scene draws emphasis on its non linearity over its course. An example of this could be the element of femininity in the attire of both the sexes with PVC skirts, tops, corsets, and collars have been among the most popular styles of clothing for goths of both genders. Links with punk, and rock culture are demonstrated by the consistent display of facial piercing, tattoos, dyed hair, and combat pants as well. 

But in the most recent scenario we have seen a huge influence of goth in mainstream fashion, such as inclusion of  corsets and bell sleeves,  dark colored lips, dramatic winged eyeliner. The goth aesthetic since the time of its inception has definitely broadened and we find that the subculture has its own subcultures now with pastel goth, steampunk and cyber goth to name a few that have sought to put their own spin on the original dark, romantic and melancholy genre of fashion.

Yours,

Neeve