Is goth fashion from the 90s seeing a resurgence?

Thanks to Netflix’s Wednesday, the revival of goth is here

It’s been over a month since Wednesday Adams returned to become not just a pop-culture icon but a fashion icon too. Netflix’s record-breaking show Wednesday–which just got renewed for a second season–has revived the all-back gothic style from the late 1980s and 1990s. This time around, the modern goth girl is glamorous, clad in lace, corsets and leather. Actor Jenna Ortega, the 20-year-old protagonist of the show, is leading this trend with her on-screen costumes (special mention to the Alaïa dress she wears for her prom) and her off-duty looks (the asymmetrical black Dion Lee dress she donned for her appearance on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’). And let’s not forget Catherine Zeta-Jones, who features as Morticia, sporting plunging black gowns. We take a look at how designers and fashion’s favourite ‘it girls’ are bringing back the trend with a dose of glam and grunge.

The runway return of the goth girl

In pop culture, goth gained popularity in the 1980s, when UK-based bands like The Cure, Joy Division, Siouxsie and The Banshees rose to fame for their dark, mysterious and ethereal compositions. In fashion, goth was a rebellious take on the Barbie-esque pink (we’ve written about its comeback that painted runways and the red carpet in the summer of 2022) with an eerie and erotic aesthetic accented by dark eyeliner and nail polish.

On the runway, gothic fashion has largely been helmed by designers and brands like Rick Owens, Anne Demeulemeester and Givenchy for decades. For his fall/winter 1997 collection, Alexander McQueen turned the models into feral beasts, sporting lace and leather. London-based designer Tom Ford induced glamour in goth with satin, lace, kohl-rimmed eyes and tousled hair for Gucci’s fall 2002 collection. Karl Lagerfeld, too, turned the sophisticated Chanel girl into a goth queen with a dark, fairy tale-esque collection for the French luxury label’s 2011 collection, while London-based Gareth Pugh showed an amalgamation of rigid silhouettes with Victorian floor-sweeping looks for his fall 2013 collection.

While designers have occasionally brought back bewitching, gothic elements on the runway, 2022 saw brands take this aesthetic rather seriously. “Fashion is a cycle. Overexposure to any aesthetic makes the tastemakers curious to go into contrasting terrains, and the current trend is just an aftereffect of the same,” says Pranav Misra, co-founder of Huemn, whose recent collection, which celebrated the brand’s ten-year anniversary, sought inspiration from death. “The foundation of the collection was life and death. I find death to be extremely fascinating. It is an essential part of life and yet always seems accidental and surprising,” says Misra.

For designers Shantnu and Nikhil Mehra, while goth culture rises from a spirit of rebellion, fashion, in turn, has always mirrored what is seen in society. “In the current socio-political climate, there is a sense of rebellion amongst the youth. They are reluctant to follow age-old customs and are constantly seeking a change. Looking at this, it only was a matter of time that goth fashion made a comeback,” says the designer duo, whose couture collection at FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week showed a bride’s rebellious yet sexy side. “ We wanted to revive the Shantnu & Nikhil bride with a new perspective by revisiting the opulence served by the Baroque era,” they say. This opulence was reflected in Capella, a collection that drew inspiration from 17th-century architecture, imbibed in exaggerated silhouettes made from tulle, silk and even velvet.

Celebrity stylist Isha Bhansali, too, feels that while goth and punk fashion were born largely out of rebellion, they are trends that will keep coming back. “Back then [from 1980s-1990s], fashion was quite conservative and everyone dressed up pretty and proper. With punk and goth, one’s tastes got darker, more badass, more spunky. Even Y2K fashion, which is big right now, has elements of goth and punk, including dark lipsticks, crop tops and tiny bags,” she explains, believing that the late Vivienne Westwood is the ultimate icon of goth, punk and rock-and-roll. 

Internationally, the revival of the goth aesthetic in 2022 came about with a slight twist. Sarah Burton induced an element of punk with goth in a cropped biker jacket over sheer dresses and a leather jumpsuit with a corset as a bodice, for Alexander McQueen’s fall/winter collection. Chloé indulged in a chicer version of goth with tailored pantsuits and fit-and-flare dresses in leather. Meanwhile, Dion Lee’s fall/winter collection was an ode to the goth era with body-hugging dresses and leotards in lace and leather, and Matthew M. Williams made this trend streetwear-friendly with layered T-shirts, sweatshirts with graphics reminiscent of band merchandise and leather tracksuits for Givenchy. 

How the popular girls are wearing it

The credit for popularising this aesthetic goes to, not surprisingly, the resurgence of micro-trends that become viral on social media platforms. While we saw femininity getting conformed with Barbiecore and balletcore with Valentino’s pink and Miu Miu’s ballet shoes, the 2022 version of goth saw abandoning colour but keeping in toe with femininity. The original goth fashion from the late 1980s and early 90s made a dramatic statement with dark hair, dark clothes (think lace, leather, fishnets, corsets and studded accessories) and dark make-up (to the extent of wearing black lipstick). Compared to that, the resurgence of this trend is more subtle and sexy, with celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Megan Fox, Kourtney Kardashian and Vanessa Hudgens donning lace and leather. Jenner was spotted wearing a Rodarte dress for nephew Mason Disick’s Bar Mitzvah, while Hudgens brought out her witchiness at MET Gala 2022 in the sheer and lacy Moschino dress. In India, musician Shruti Hasan is often seen in black, head-to-toe, wearing corsets, combat boots, leather jackets and dark make-up. Actor Janhvi Kapoor, on the other hand, had a sexier take on this trend with a long leather dress, accessories with a pair of leather gloves.  

If you want to incorporate elements of goth into Indian fashion, Bhansali suggests pairing a black lace saree with a dark lip colour. Goth, however, is not for the faint-hearted. “One has to be culturally aware and curious for it to seamlessly flow into your wardrobe. It is a strong statement to make and cannot just be borrowed on a surface level,” says Misra. 

Also Read: Does Gen Z wear Y2K trends better than the Y2K generation?

Also Read: The white tank top has entered it’s era of resurgence

Also Read: You don’t need to be a ballerina to jump on to the balletcore bandwagon