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Gothic clothing is without a doubt one of the most intriguing
elements in our scene. And the people in it, more often than not, have a unique
sense of style—dark and sensual, sometimes daring, always alluring. Goth
is a pleasure for all the senses. The clothing itself is a feast for the eyes
and luscious to the touch. From the luxury of velvet, to the coolness of PVC,
we love to dress up and wear things that both look and feel
gorgeous.
The effort we put into our ensembles is not so much
narcissistic as it is self-expression and taking pride in our look. Our
sub-culture is the last vestige of the days of yore, when dressing up to go out
was a must. Like the Victorian era when men wore hats and ascots, and the
ladies wore lace blouses and velvet cloaks, we take care in dressing up for
dancing at Savage or a spanking at the Funhaus Fetish Night.
But our
style of dress, as with so many things in our scene, tends to garner stares and
snickers from ignorant (read: mainstream) people. Frankly, I don’t care. I
love my clothes and my style. It’s far superior to the rag-tag mini
skirts, baggy hip hop pants and the (GASP!) flip-flops you see in much of the
city.
These people mock us. But here’s the irony: Goth is the
inspiration behind the fall and winter collections of major fashion designers.
They have taken nearly every style of gothic dress—Victorian, romantic,
vamp, lolita, and military—and transformed it into couture.
Examples:
Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana went romantic with lace
blouses, corsets and chokers. Alberta Ferretti and Jean-Paul Gauthier took
inspiration from the Victorian era with high collars, tight bodices and long
flowing skirts. The house of Gucci was all vamp with tight leather and PVC
mini-skirts, fishnets, and glossy knee-high boots. And Marc Jacobs went for the
innocent Gothic Lolita look. To fend off the nasty winter chill, designers made
long winter frock coats, capes and military-inspired jackets, complete with
brass buttons and adorned cuffs. (Oooo I can hear the delighted squeal of one
friend who salivates at the sight of a girl in military chic.) All of these
clothes created from rich fabrics- silk, satin, lace and velvet, in dark
purple, blue, burgundy and of course black.
And what completes these
hauntingly sexy looks? Why deftly applied black eyeliner of course. That’s
right my spooky pets, even makeup on fashion runways has gone Goth. Cat-like
eyes, full lashes, dramatic shadow, all on a pale canvas, topped with
berry-coloured lips, like cherries in the snow. One of fashion’s most
famous make-up artists, Tom Pecheux, proclaimed Goth as his inspiration,
painting the girls as dark vixens for all the shows in which he participated.
The New York Times Style magazine, one of the most fashion-forward
publications, is full of Gothic looks, even introducing one of their fashion
spreads like this: “There is enough black this season to rival a Rammstein
concert.”
This isn’t the first time high fashion has turned
Goth. Spring 2003 was filled with corsets, Wednesday Addams dresses, and so
many crosses the Vatican was jealous. So does this mean that Goth has hit the
mainstream? In the fashion world, yes. But who can blame all those designers?
We are part of a beautiful genre, with distinct style.
The feeling about
high-end designers going Goth is mixed. Some people are perplexed: if so many
people make fun of the Gothic look, why is it suddenly in Vogue and Elle?
Others are angered that the sub-culture is being popularized. Most shrug it off
as a passing fad. Some are complimented by it. I, for one, take it as a
compliment. These fashion giants create high-end clothes worth hundreds and
thousands of dollars. They are considered by most of society to be the highest
echelon of trendsetters, they dress the richest of the rich, and influence the
looks of the not-so-rich and famous.
And these designers are turning to
US for inspiration.
But no matter how you feel about it, the bottom
line is that fashion and style are two completely different entities. And when
Goth finally leaves the runways of Paris, Milan and New York, and the hoards
jump on the next fashion must-have look, WE will still be the stylish ones. The
beautiful ones.
posted Septenber 13 2005 |
Darq Angel has been living in
Toronto for 15 years. An avid reader, writer, club-goer, and music lover, she
has been a lurker in Toronto's gothic scene, floating around quietly, casting
her dark shadow over various clubs and events in the city. 