Silk blouse, £620, Irish Twin; Velvet trousers, £160, Aspiga; Leather heeled mule, £150, Jigsaw; Gold plated earrings, £170, Polene
It’s not just movie star style that is driving the soft goth trend, there’s also a broader pop cultural context at play. Sarra Manning – a former teenage goth, now novelist and Literary Editor of Red magazine – explains that soft goth book trends like ‘Romantasy’ (think: the Sarah J. Maas series A Court of Thorns and Roses), “are so big now, they’ve crossed over. They are not just a Gen Z phenomenon, they are also widely read by mid-lifers”. She also points to the popularity of subscription book company Illumicrate, which curates aesthetically pleasing boxes of romantic books with sprayed edges and beautiful covers. “It’s very ‘booktok’, very ‘bookstagram’,” she continues. “Also autumn is a very soft goth time of year. Everyone wants to get cosy, read a book and get sort of slightly spooked, but not so spooked you are going to have nightmares.”
Of course for some, Goth is not just a seasonal fashion trend to dip a pointy toe into, it’s a way of life. On November 1st, the Whitby Gothic Weekend will see thousands of devotees swathed in suitably macabre attire descend for a three day festival of eldritch goings-on; and for those in the know there’s a busy calendar of goth happenings throughout the country.
I speak to one modern goth Madelaine Macabre, 32, from Nazeby, Waltham Abbey, who among other things sews stitch-perfect replica outfits from her favourite films (we met at an exhibition of Poor Things costumes, when she was dressed as Bella Baxter). Why does she think there has been a resurgence of interest in all things goth? “I guess in a way, history repeats itself. The subculture was born in a time of political turbulence and a similar thing is happening today. I think people enjoy looking to the darker side of things and romanticising it. It’s like watching a horror movie, you can experience something scary in a safe way.”
So has she seen the new Beetlejuice movie? “Not yet, but I plan to and I’ve already made a stripy outfit!” Light in the darkness indeed. Here’s to enjoying the season of the goth… even if you are a softie, like me.