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The Craft (1996)Goths on film: 18 of the best-dressed doomers in pop culture
FASHIONLISTS
As Wednesday gets its big release on Netflix, and life crosses into the dark side, we pay respects to all the hot goths that came before us
23November 2022
TextDaniel RodgersTextHabi Diallo
Despite what the Addams family might attest, nobody is born wearing alabaster face paint and black gowns. Think of the classic case of the teen-turned-goth, which is one of the most enduring tropes in contemporary culture. The girl who grows weary of seeing her classmates parrot each other’s style and speech, and so sends out a distress signal – thick eyeliner, all-black outfits, buckle-strewn boots – in an attempt to separate herself from the lamestream. She starts to listen to The Damned and Siouxsie Sioux, thinking herself an undiscovered member of Evanescence.
Often, we realise who we are and what we’re about by assuming the identities of other people. The shape-shifting power of clothing is one of the most fundamental pleasures in getting dressed each morning, and is perhaps the simplest way of experimenting with newfound allegiances. Film, music, and television all play an essential role in facilitating this process of self-discovery – how many people saw themselves, for the first time, in Nancy Downs’ character in The Craft and decided to steal, copy, and shamelessly rip off her bloodied lipstick and studded choker? What might start out as a performance of subculture eventually brings us closer in line to our real selves.
“It’s about everyone who has been outcast in their life
