Game of Goth

At times presented with a grunge effect and sometimes laced with soft romance — Goth always makes itself relevant in fashion. It could be a sub-culture, a horror film or just rebellious mood — designers across the board fall for its cross-pollinated zeitgeist of art, music and cinema. At the recently concluded New York, London and Milan Fashion Weeks, Marc Jacobs’ zany take on the ghosts of New York stood out and so did Rodarte sisters’ 10th anniversary show, who seem to have a sixth-sense understanding of the genre. DSquared2 at Milan and Dries Van Noten in Paris too showed thick smoky dramatic eyes. Add dark lips and lots of blacks and sheer and you’ve got the vision of the iconic Siouxsie Sioux (inspiring designers across the board for the last so many seasons). In India, Sonam Kapoor has been at the forefront of the goth make-up wave. Her come-hither eye make-up at the Armani Prive show last year comes to mind. Designer Monisha Jaising at her last couture show presented the nouveau bride with Goth lips and Nachiket Barve broke the boho wave with his take on Goth architecture at Lakme Fashion Week.

Sub-cultures reflect state of mind
Designer Kallol Datta who’s been Goth’s poster boy in India says, “There are certain designers, who subscribe to the Goth genre in fashion. More often than not, subcultures reflect a state of mind, and these designers manifest clothes which reflect the lifestyles and belief systems of the clothes makers. It comes naturally to them. I guess the moment one makes an all black collection, it gets slated as ‘Gothic’. The same applies to when distressed, tattered pieces on the runway get labelled ‘grunge’. For a designer to have a so-called ‘Goth collection’ simply because it’s in ‘fashion’ is oxymoronic since subcultures transcend trends. Which is why a large part of mainstream fashion when compared to Grunge, Ganguro, Kogal etc, seem disconnected from reality.

So with the designers you mentioned, they may partake or be immersed in music, art, films, literature associated with the Goth sub-culture and hence it makes sense that they keep revisiting it season after season. You always know the believers from the fake. In the context of fashion design for consumption purposes, the fake make ‘costumes’ and not clothes.”

It’s palate cleansing
Designer Nachiket Barve observes that fashion set gets easily bored and is always itching to explore newer looks. “This aesthetic shows a certain somberness and the current mood. I referenced Goth last time because it was palate cleansing for me. Motifs like rose, flowers or butterflies — every designer has toyed with them at some point or the other. For me, it was also trying to find strength and I was tired of the boho look. Besides, fashion is cyclical. There is also a generational shift in fashion with newer techniques and streamlined silhouettes coming and individuals are trying to distill their vision. Also, there is a difference between the catwalk and reality and there’s too much mishmash. There will always be some women who’ll never embrace athleisure and there will be few who’ll never warm to Goth. So no trend is a new trend,” he says.

A commentary on socio-political scene
Designer Monisha Jaising says, “Goth influence has also got to do with the rebellious culture and the socio-political scene. Also, at times like these, fashion is not taken seriously. People often say, ‘why talk of fashion when economy is bad?’ Perhaps it’s designers’ way of making fashion not so frivolous. So they opt for dark make-up to offset the pretty tea-length dresses.”

A mad element surfaces
Designer Arpita Mehta says, “Each designer has a rebellious side. Rodarte did a soft romantic take on Goth. I think every designer has one mad element which surfaces from time to time.”

Shows rebellion
Designer Anand Bhushan says, “I think there’s always a certain kind of rebellion. I try to make a point — sometimes there’s an element of power or the absence of it.”