Halloween on the Runway
Image Courtesy: i-D
Most believe that the spooky, the sinister, and the gothic strictly belong within Halloween couture; thankfully, that isn’t the case. For decades, fashion designers across the world have used the macabre as a source of inspiration. In his book The Arcades Project, Walter Benjamin, a German philosopher and cultural critic, states, “Fashion consists only in extremes . . . Its uttermost extremes: frivolity and death.” Gothic fashion first came to light in the late 1970s and became more mainstream towards the ‘80s. The sounds and accessories of the genre quickly became hallmarks of a newly formed subculture. Its emergence is primarily credited to the glam rock era of the ‘70s, with the glamor of David Bowie and the intensity of acts like Patti Smith and Iggy Pop. Iconic characters such as Morticia Adams in The Addams Family (1991) only furthered the public’s fascination with the subculture.
The runway also began to embody this look with the arrival of Alexander McQueen on the British fashion scene. His style has notoriously focused on eerie aesthetics. Often drawing inspiration from Gothic elements in Victorian architecture, McQueen used his unique design approach to incorporate these styles with intricate lace, dramatic silhouettes, and dark color palettes. He was known for utilizing volume, proportion, and sharp lines to portray dark and provocative imagery.
Image Courtesy: LongLiveMcQueen
In his 2006 Autumn/Winter collection entitled The Widows of Culloden, McQueen demonstrates his fascination with the Romantic Gothic. His pieces featured frothy wedding gowns and bird-like headpieces, supplemented with bustles, laces, and furs that limited distractions from the model’s beauty. His collections commonly addressed taboo subjects, using clothing and accessories to make bold statements on issues that often linger in the shadows. His last two runway shows before this were deemed “commercial” by critics, so many looked to this show as the reclamation of his nickname, l’enfant terrible, the hooligan of English fashion. The show finished with a hologram of Kate Moss that stunned the audience to tears. With a flowing wedding dress, her melancholic image made a lasting impression. The theatrical and unsettling staging of his works made him one of the most memorable and renowned fashion designers of the decade, and he went on to design for Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and many other famous projects.
Gareth Pugh, another British designer (the Brits seem to be esoteric), was known for his avant-garde and futuristic fashion. He played with unconventional shapes and exaggerated proportions to evoke a sense of otherworldliness. In his Winter 2011/2012 collection, Pugh transformed typical winter looks with ethereal leather fabrics and asymmetrical modeled coats to add a touch of glamor to an otherwise gothic agenda. In his Spring/Summer 2018 collection, Pugh favored distortion and reimagined the capabilities of the human body. This is common in his work as he prefers to rebel against traditional fashion norms and create garments that defy expectations and provoke thought. His Spring/Summer 2016 collection used headpieces usually seen on nuns as a gothic accessory to comment on religion as an institution of power.
Image Courtesy: Strike Magazine Tallahassee
This Halloween, as we adorn ourselves in the spirit of the ghostly and the unknown, let us celebrate the creators who dare to manifest their innermost fears and desires into tangible works of art. Just as the moon casts its shadow over the night, these designers cast a bewitching allure over the runway, leaving us spellbound by their audacity and ingenuity.
Strike Out,
Writer: Mishalynn Brown
Editor: Noelle Knowlton
Tallahassee