[Dark Side] Fashion

From Washington Post
Fashion's Darker Side

By Janet Bennett Kelly  |  September 12, 2008

For Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), black has never gone out of style, despite last season's love affair with all things bright and floral. For fall 2008, though, fashion is returning to its dark side, which makes perfect timing for the publication of Steele's new book, "Gothic: Dark Glamour" (Yale University Press, $45) and a corresponding FIT exhibition which opens the same day as the book comes out -- Sept. 5.

So, we asked Steele - what makes goth goth?

"Although mostly associated with rock musicians and teens wearing all black," says Steele, "goth is a recurring theme in contemporary fashion. But just because a dress is black doesn't mean it's goth. It's got to have an element of the magical, the mysterious, the dangerous about it."

According to Steele, Horace Walpole launched the idea of gothic with his 18th-century novel, "The Castle of Otranto." A scary tale set in a ruined, haunted castle, it was one of the first horror stories published in England. Even earlier, during the Roman Empire, the Romans called the invaders the Visigoths - or barbarians, the opposite of a civilized people.

Steele cites Alexander McQueen (his fashions are "dangerous, with a hint of the sinister" about them), Rick Owens ("a little decadent"), Comme des Garcons (" Rei Kawakubo pushes the envelope") and Yohji Yamamoto ("he said black is the color of nothingness") as designers who weave goth into their collections. This year Prada did a lot of black lace, which Steele says has a gothic vibe, while Nicolas Ghesquiere's collection for Balenciaga had a cyber-goth look.

You don't need to spend sky-high designer prices to try a little goth in your own wardrobe. "Black-red nail polish (1. Black Satin from Chanel, $20) is instantly gothifying," says Steele. Other ways to goth up your look are with motorcycle boots (2. Harley Davidson 'Typhoon' Motorcycle Boot, $103.99) or "vertiginous heels," a long skirt or dress, a leather jacket (3. Joie Women "Amita" Fitted Leather Hooded Jacket, Bloomingdale's, $594.00), a spider-webby sweater top and for makeup, pale skin and a vampirish lipstick (4. MAC, shade Underworld, $14). A lacy necklace (5. Beth Lauren Metal Leather Net Feather Necklace, Intermix, $215), and a skull or two couldn't hurt, either, as in a Winged Skull Burnout Tee (6. Kohls, $16.80).