Unexpected Fun Facts
About Gothic
For most people,
the mere mention of the word “Gothic” would
immediately conjure up vivid mental images of heavily made-up young men and
women dressed in Victorian Gothic clothing such as long leather or velvet coats, breeches, buckled
boots and corsets - all in the darkest shades of black you can find. For those
interested in gothic clothing UK, and want to understand more about
this all-black affinity, let’s dive into the history of this weird
yet wonderful style that has turned heads through the centuries.
The Gothic
style of dress
The somber
yet majestic aesthetic appeal of Gothic fashion reached its height of popularity all
across western Europe in the centuries we now call the Dark Ages. It wasn’t only until
later during the Renaissance era that the elements of Gothic style were seen as
unconventional and wrong by the influencers of the day. It’s gloomy
appearance and visual impact is distinctive and deliberate, especially for
those who subscribe to the modern subculture variant of Gothic fashion. The
interest in Gothic style re-emerged in modern times after the death of punk in
the UK during the early 1980’s, when teenagers donned all-black
outfits and dark makeup in lieu of studded denim jackets and mohawks to
represent the depression and despondency of the era.
Gothic in
architecture
However, fashion isn’t the only thing
that the Gothic style represents. It was first used to describe certain
architectural styles applied to churches and cathedrals built during the years
1000 to 1400. From the ashes of the declining Romanesque architectural style
rose a new form of civil engineering, a chapter defined by the use of
fundamental elements such as ribbed vaults and pointed arches (found in Roman
buildings), stained-glass windows that illuminate the insides, flying
buttresses and of course - the liberal placement of scary looking gargoyles all
around the outside of buildings.
In its early years during the first half of the
12th century, the Gothic architectural style was known at the time by a very
different name. It was called Opus
Francigenum, which means French Work (the most well-known example of this
being the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris). In fact, the name “Gothic” itself was
coined only later by Renaissance thinkers as a reference to the Goths, a
barbaric tribe in the days of the Roman Empire who were largely seen as vulgar
and uncultured.
To them, Gothic style was a stark contrast to the
neat and rational sensibilities of Classical Renaissance architecture, which
placed emphasis on features such as symmetry, proportion, geometry and
regularity - the same elements that were found in the buildings of ancient
Rome.
Gothic
literature
The Gothic elements also permeated into the
literary works of the late 1700s, where it was originally called Dark
Romanticism - an offshoot of a larger movement called Romanticism. The Gothic
literature of that age was characterised by a gruesome, sombre and funereal
tone, often encompassing elements of the supernatural and spiritual as a large
part of the narrative. Some of the most famous titles of the Gothic literature
genre include works like The Castle of
Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole, Wuthering
Heights (1847) by Emily Bronte, Frankenstein
(1818) by Mary Shelley and of course - the all too famous Dracula (1897), by Bram Stoker.
Gothic
clothing through the ages
When it comes to clothing, most, if not all of the
defining features of modern Gothic style actually comes from the victorian Gothic fashion during the reign of Queen
Victoria in England. The definition of beauty during those days was attributed
to embracing elements of the macabre and the grotesque - where tight leather
was combined together with loose, draping fabric such as velvet or lace to
create resplendent outfits that had a sombre, yet glamorous look and feel.
The inspiration for the modern Gothic fashion we
see today is drawn largely from the days of early cinema. The actress Theda
Bara and model Bettie Page, who were known for dark makeup and dark hair
contrasted against their pale skin, influenced the makeup styles of modern
Gothic fashion. The music scene of the 1980s produced bands such as Siouxsie
and the Banshees and the Cure, arguably two of the most influential gothic rock
bands that defined the dark yet mysterious visual appeal of Gothic culture.
As a testament to the adaptability of the subculture,
more contemporary Gothic fashion looks incorporate elements that aren’t necessarily
classic Gothic by nature. Some examples include things like chokers, PVC
skirts, corsets, collars, and combat boots - things that were borrowed from the
fetish and punk scenes of the 80’s, and the emphasis on the imagery
used in contemporary Gothic media, like tshirts or jackets emblazoned with
logos of Gothic bands or any other distinctive fictional Goth-related elements.
Gothic as a
worldwide movement
During the mid-1990’s, the love for
Gothic style made its way from the western hemisphere where it started, to the
far east - in the streets of the Harajuku district in Tokyo, Japan to be exact.
The combination of borrowed Western Goth aesthetics with anime and the
alternative music scene in japan resulted in an explosion of a new kind of
fashion movement called the Gothic Lolita, which blends traditionally victorian
gothic elements with baby doll dresses and an emphasis on cuteness - or kawaii, as it is called there.
Since the Medieval age, the appeal of Gothic has
been shown in many different ways - architecture, literature, music, art and
fashion over the preceding centuries have all been influenced in some way,
shape or form by Gothic sensibilities. For subscribers of the contemporary
Gothic subculture, the sense of collective identity that is based upon a
celebration of shared tastes in fashion, music and culture has become a defiant
cry against having to conform to modern society. However, it’s not all peaches
and gravy - some of the controversial stigmas and assumptions that the Gothic
community has dealt with over the years include links to satanism, extreme
violence and vampirism (blood-drinking!).
With all that in mind, it’s safe to say
that Gothic style, and more notably Gothic fashion, has certainly gone through many
cycles of death and rebirth over the ages - a truly macabre thought that aptly
defines the Gothic appeal that has largely inspired modern art, fashion and
culture worldwide up till today.
