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All Things Goth

From Subculture to Mainstream Spotlight

Goth culture is a captivating subculture that thrives on the darker side of life. From music to fashion, goth culture embraces the mysterious and the poetic. Although it has been around for decades goth style and trends continue to evolve. Recently, goth subculture has been on display at mainstream events such as the Met Gala and Eurovision. Let’s look at how goth has made its way to conventional events and brands:

GOTH AT THE MET GALA

Gen Z influencer Emma Chamberlain made a striking appearance at the 2024 Met Gala, wearing a custom dark brown lace Jean Paul Gaultier gown that channeled her “inner goth”. The dress, which took 640 hours to create, featured a lace corset inspired by Gaultier’s spring/summer 2003 couture runway show. The intricate design was meant to invoke images of an “apocalyptic garden.” “The [Met Gala] theme is the Garden of Time, which is [the title] of a short story. This is sort of a fantasy, enchanted-like theme. It’s fun to do a dark twist on it; the underbelly of nature,” commented Chamberlain on her attire.

GOTH TAKES CENTER STAGE AT EUROVISION

Bambie Thug, an Irish singer who competed at this year’s Eurovision is a self-described “goth gremlin goblin witch”. Bambie initially trained as a ballerina before making the switch to a career in music. They parted ways with a talent agency that tried to turn them towards “bubblegum pop”. Before becoming the Irish delegate at Eurovision 2024, Bambie Thug had been releasing music for three years and gathered a following. Their song, “Doomsday Blue”, includes lyrics that reference witchcraft, casting spells, and supernatural themes. One fan declared that “Doomsday Blue” was “the most original performance we EVER had in the whole history of Eurovision...”

E.L.F. COSMETICS ACCUSED OF GOTH CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

E.l.f. and canned water company Liquid Death partnered to release a coffin-shaped makeup palette called “Corpse Paint”. The palette features a cream eyeshadow to be used all over the face and combined with black lipstick and eyeliner. The ad for the palette shows two teenagers looking at a magazine featuring a celebrity in Kiss style makeup who then emerges in real life to offer the teens the palette. The reaction from goth subculture on social media has not been completely positive and the “corpse paint purists” are not thrilled about typical beauty influencers getting their hands on the makeup. The ad was called “lazy” and said to be perpetuating "every single possible alternative metalhead stereotype", according to Business Insider.