Vampire Fashion? Well turtle necks are not
in style.
In the real world, Vampire fashion or vampyre
fashion is generally a mixture of Victorian
and Gothic fashion. Some vampires include
Cyber fashion, but this is kinda rare. In
Moove...anything goes. As Vampires, or vampyres, are typically shown
as an elegant race their fashion matches
that look. Lace, black, dresses or gowns,
all fit the vampire fashion trend . It is
sometimes called Gothic Lolita or black Lolita
and neo-victorianism. It is also an elegant gothic fashion with
torn ends, like a disintegrating funerary
clothes, or having details that are usually
associated with ancient time like spider
webs. "In the last two decades of the twentieth
century a vibrant
youth culture developed
in the UK. Called
goth, it's adherents
wore
black clothing, often
with pallid make
up
and danced to a wide
variety of music.
This
fin de siecle movement
had strong emotional
and romanticist themes;
the thanatos and
concern with death,
the mythology of
the
Vampire and of the
dispossessed and
alienated,
it was described
by cultural critic
John
Savage as a reaction
to Britain's the
Thatcherite
Government.
There was no particular musical style which
can clearly be defined
as gothic; goths
listened
to music varying
from the pastoral
musings
of All About Eve,
the exuberant Zeppelinesque
rock of The Mission
and The Cult, the
electronic
art-rock of Bauhaus
and from 1991 onwards
their was an increasing
intertextual relationship
with Dance, Industrial
and Techno. Very few so called 'goth' bands maintained
the same musical
style throughout,
and many,
such as the Sisters
of Mercy, repudiated
the label with some
justification as
their
music developed away
from them stereotypes
beloved of the goth
community. Some bands became increasingly Rock orientated
- The Sisters, The
Cult while All About
Eve
developed first a
Folk and then a Dance
style.
The Sisters of Mercy
were an unusual case;
percieved by the
media as the epitome
of
goth Andrew Eldritch,
the creative genius
behind the band repudiated
the label with
venom, and while
they remained the
single
most influential
factor in UK goth
they themselves
were not goth.
Goth originated from roots in the Punk and
New Romantic movements
(QV), though influences
came from a variety
of sources. Proto-goth
influences were Siouxie
and the Banshees,
The Birthday Party,
Bauhaus, Joy Division,
The Damned and The
Cure and goths first
appearance
to the mainstream
was via the fashions
of
these bands and Scottish
popsters Strawberry
Switchblade, who
achieved chart success.
Apart from Bauhaus, all resolutely denied
the goth label, which
is more than fair;
they were the progenitors
of goth, not really
part of it. Appealing to a young, 16-25 year old audience
primarily the scene
developed in Leeds
originally,
with Alice's, a nightclub
in London, also
being extremely influential.
The 1985 release
of the Sisters of Mercy album 'First and
Last and Always' began a period from 1985-1987
when goth was a major UK subculture; those
who were amongst the first goths therefore
live by the adage 'Goth died in '85', and
Goths were frequently proud of the length
of their association with the subculture.
By 1988 Goth was in decline, as the 'Dance
Decade' exploded
into the charts. UK youth
expressed an interest
in psychedelia and
the new dance music
coming out of Manchester
- the Madchester
scene - and in the burgeoning
Rave culture. Many
who had briefly adopted
the image dropped
it, and moved onto the
new subcultures.
The early 1990's
saw a number of influential
purist goth bands
still touring, and
of these
perhaps the most
important were the
Fields
of the Nephilim and
the Rosetta Stone,
both
of who took goth
rock in new directions,
but failed to capture
worldwide sales.
The
main emphasis of
the
period '92-95 was probably goth-industrial
and goth-techno fusion, as goth negotiated
uneasily the new dayglo smiley attitudes
of British youth. There was doubtless an influence also from
the Transatlantic
grunge phenomenon- but
largely goth was
locked into a downward spiral
of decay, and in
the last years of the century,
1995-2000, goth was
a minority culture revitalised
only by occassional
(and often resented)
appearances at goth
clubs of Metal and Marilyn
Manson fans. Goth purists refused to accept these individuals
as part of the subculture, but attempted
to convert them to what they defined as serious
(late 80's goth.) However by the close of
the 90's this search for purism had led many
goths into a healthy search for their roots,
and they were dancing to the mainstream 80's New Romantic and Pop
bands at goth nights with no real sense of
irony; Aha, Soft Cell, New Order, Japan,
all could be heard. Goth fashion developed in the late 1970's,
from the look pioneered
by the Gothic punks
like Siouxie, and
with elements of
eighties
fashion mixed with
the look developed
largely
by Dave Vanian of
the Damned. It featured
mock Byronic period
costume, with frilly
shirts and black
frock coats, dyed
blue black
hair and elaborate
hair styles. Women's
styles
were often exaggeratedly
sexy in a style
influenced by Cyndi
Lauper and early
Madonna;
Black was uniform,
with fishnets and
short
skirts being later
replaced increasingly
by a more slinky
vampiric look. Early goths (pre-87) wore red and greens
as well as black; 1987-90 saw purple becoming
increasingly fashionable, together with lilacs
and paisley shirts, waistcoats and other
Victoriana. After 1990 goth fashion tended
to adopt from the New metal culture of bands
like Mettalica and Sepultura; after 1993
fetish wear began to appear even in the provinces,
and by the late 90's goth had returned full
circle back to the fetish accessories of
the Punk movement. It was a rare goth who wore studded collars back in the
late 80's! Despite this attempt to delineate the progress
of goth fashion,
there was very little
change
overall, and much
gothic wear by the
mid-nineties
was little more than
a series of cliches;
goth had ceased to
inspire new fashion
designers.
late 90's goths often
looked particularly
retro, and some could
have stepped out
of
an 80's nightclub. Goth also developed associated cultural motifs,
at times inseparable
in the public mind
from
goth itself. The
drug of choice in
the early
days seems to have
been speed, amphetamine
sulphate. Goth culture
was however not drug
fuelled the way later
dance sub cultures
were - drug use was
very low amongst
average
goth crowds, though
there were notable
exceptions.
from 87 onwards goth
began to be associated
in the popular mind
with Wicca and Neo-Paganism,
and hence with Ritual
Magick and other
occult
practices. All About Eve and The Mission were particularly
influential in this
area, and a psychedelic
current also entered
goth as it met hippy
pastoral motifs.
Pre-87 goths often
disliked
the occult influence,
and ridiculed those
who became involved
in the mystical wave,
though others embraced
it with a passion.
This dichotomy between
occult interested
goths and sceptical
goths was maintained
throughout the rest
of the genres history.
After 1990 the influence of White Wolf's
Vampire roleplaying
game did much to
bring
the Vampire into
fashion, as did the
ever
popular works of
Anne Rice. British
vampire
fans became indistinguishable
to the public
from goth; the two
movements had a large
overlap but many
goths found the vampire-people
ridiculous and irritating,
mirroring the
eternal struggle
between those who
saw themselves
as true goths and
everyone else wannabes.
There was sufficient
difference however
here
for some distinction
to be made, and apart
from the obvious
links with Dave Vanian
and
the Damned UK goth
had very little to
do
with vampires! The two most important forums for goth on
the internet were
the newsgroups alt.gothic
and after that became
a very heavy traffic
site, uk.people.gothic.
The Net Goths were
generally vocal,
intelligent and articulate,
but even in the late
90's a common thread
on the newsgroups
was 'what exactly
is goth?'.
Goth had many lasting influences, but ultimately
had little effect
on mainstream UK
youth
culture".
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Contact Us: CrystalAngelFashion@earthlink.net
In the real world, Vampire fashion or vampyre
fashion is generally a mixture of Victorian
and Gothic fashion. Some vampires include
Cyber fashion, but this is kinda rare. In
Moove...anything goes.
the mainstream 80's New Romantic and Pop
bands at goth nights with no real sense of
irony; Aha, Soft Cell, New Order, Japan,
all could be heard.
goth who wore studded collars back in the
late 80's!
