Goth’s Gone “Soft”
Has It?
Discuss.
[ Please, That Is . . . ]
Tags: "soft" Goth, Autumn/Winter 2011, Felder Felder, hair, hair trends, Julian J Smith, Kristian Aadnevik, Nick Irwin, platinum blondes, the term Goth, TIGI
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June 5th, 2011 at 6:09 PM
yeah, barely gave me a rubbery one…
June 5th, 2011 at 10:15 PM
How can they say that it’s goth that has gone soft, when all they have as evidence is a bunch of designers hand picking dark aesthetic elements from a myriad of subcultures and including it in their fashion? It’s a pretty weak argument if you ask me.
June 6th, 2011 at 2:02 AM
The only thing even remotely “Goth” about any of those outfits is the make-up.
June 6th, 2011 at 11:13 AM
I agree with Photographer Leia. It’s tough to make a convincing argument with weak elements: might as well argue that Goth’s gone soft b/c Kim Kardashian wore some black eyeliner once (my point being that the examples need to be more relevant). It’s also pretty misguided to make the “soft” claim using high-fashion elements b/c that implies that high fashion defines Goth aesthetics. It doesn’t, though it can be lovely when the two intersect.
June 6th, 2011 at 1:02 PM
Why oh why is it always “goth” when models have eyeliner overload and long hair worn loose? Clothes-wise, I see some gothic influences in those clothes but not that much. Ho-hum.
June 6th, 2011 at 1:28 PM
Hey, emaciated, pale models look good in anything! But I agree with Photographer Leia that the designers here are simply plucking elements from various subcultures and calling it all “soft goth”. Everyone wants to coin a new style. Meh.
June 6th, 2011 at 3:45 PM
@ Red – it *can* be lovely when the two intersect because it means that for a brief moment you can find some spectacular clothes ar regular stores with all the “right” elements. “Right” for me of course means victoriana
I personally have no issue with designers testing the warters of the darker subcultures, they just shouldn’t *also* assume that that means thier designs in turn define what darker asthetics are.
June 6th, 2011 at 6:12 PM
Fashion writers like to spout adjectives sometimes without a clear understanding as to what they mean.
June 6th, 2011 at 8:23 PM
I think the world of haute couture and runway fashion is totally different from alternative fashion. It may have “goth” influences, but it does not constitute goth fashion, which is part of a subculture. They’re just separate realms.
June 6th, 2011 at 9:13 PM
I really feel like they’re just not using the right term for it. Like, if they plan on releasing much more goth looks for F/W then, sure, use the term. However, describing the garments in the video, it really didn’t jibe. Sure, they have darker influences and sure, they’re not going for classic goth, they are innovative, fashion forward people therefore something new is bound to come out but I feel like most of these garments are too much of a stretch in too little time to peg the term ‘goth’ to.
June 7th, 2011 at 2:51 AM
I spotted a pair of boots in that clip that look just like the Demonia Torment-716s
June 7th, 2011 at 9:13 AM
Oh this was a giggle. Its as if they plucked the key words to name drop to make them “edgy”. It would have been ok if they are just said they were going for a darker aesthetic. Even the hair stylists were a laugh, oh this one i’m going suzie sioux, and this one is heavy metal cos is matte.
Just a flash in the pan sweeping statment lumping dark elements under one catch phrase umbrella to make them seem hip and now – remember its goth but sophiscated. *face palm*
June 7th, 2011 at 4:19 PM
This would be like me adding some khaki slacks to my normal ensemble and saying ‘Business Casual has gone Punk/Hardcore’. Except some of these outfits looked OK, and that would just look stupid. But there was nothing remotely new, how long has high-fashion been borrowing fetish-y elements? And that unfortunate combination of dark lipstick and eyeliner with ‘natural’ skin and hair has been around for ages too.
June 7th, 2011 at 9:42 PM
uggghhhh. i hate everything this video chooses to be. I can’t even. its just a bit of gothy elements into non goth clothes, goth hasn’t gone soft, the designers have just realized that goth is amazing so they try to include it in stuff they been doing. theres not alot of clothes in this video that I would even want to try on, let alone those shades of greens or reds by that one designer with that one shoulder sleeved mullet dress.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:18 AM
This just makes me confused. When did the buttcut become goth?
June 9th, 2011 at 1:29 PM
PFFFFFAHAHAHA.
Oh, Nixon. Oh you.
June 10th, 2011 at 6:32 AM
Let me get this straight, Wang has gone soft? poor guy. Seriously though, I think the term “soft” is inaccurate, one of the designers mentioned sophistication which brings to mind that these lines were intended to create a goth look that has matured even though I feel they failed. I’d love to bring back McQueen to show them how Goth should be done. Or we could just takes notes from this Siouxsie video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5iMaQfmXVQ
June 13th, 2011 at 3:44 AM
It’s not any sort of goth let alone soft. As has been said, a load of eye liner and a few black clothes don’t make it goth. They wouldn’t know Siouxsie Sioux if she bit them on the bum. It’s fashion grasping for an edge of difference and missing the mark as far as establishing what that edge it. There are some nice pieces but nothing memorable.
June 15th, 2011 at 1:02 AM
Nixon,
What’s a “butt cut”? [ Not even joking. . . for obvious reasons, I'm guessing : parted-down-the-middle ? ]
Otherwise, oh, how I love Haute Macabre commentary!
[ Who, me? " Bait " people ? Whatever do you mean? ]
But seriously though :
Ditto, majority above—though I do like the idea of [ quote ] an ” albino Goth . ”
Any old schoolers who remember Propaganda‘s coverage of the Countess Bathory ?
When I was 15, I thought that model [ " Tia, " if memory serves ] was IT.
Nostrilla notwithstanding, even. . .
*[ Oops, & there that evil smirk emerges ! ]*
John Koviak, Paris Sadonis : same [ adoration from my †+† bleached-black soul †+† . . . & stacks of baaaaad bi-polar poetry ] ; though all of that’s a ‘ given ,’ isn’t it?
Oh.But.Wait, Oh.But.Wait, Oh.But.Wait ! Another question :
Not a single mention of the black head-pieces . [ " Hats " ? More like frames. ]
Am I the only person who kind of doesn’t hate them ?
July 28th, 2011 at 3:50 PM
The most important thing I have to say is: Brown hair sucks from here to eternity.
I blame Avril Lavigne for this phenomenon (is it?), seriously, although you may think nobody gives a damn fuck about her, she is very important in this (it hurts to say) soft goth crap. That girl is the epitome of what mediocre narrowminded people consider as goth and/or punk.
It is so safe and silly. “Good Christian girls could, maybe, wear black nailpolish once IF it is sort of a trend and they friends are doing it too”
The poor girl even stated that she would dye her hair all blonde and wear a white dress to her wedding (eventhough she is so badass she would wear a black dress and those cheap hot topic pink clip ons) because she wouldn’t want her grandchildren to have that bad image of her grandma.
Fuck you soft goth prudes.
Give me that fur hooded thing, and get out of my sight!
For them, it is a phase