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Im not talking about the unexpected pivot from brat to demure, orthe wafty return of Sienna Miller-era boho.
Photos: Getty Images
What Im talking about is a lot more timeless.
Something that has hitherto been lurking in shadows and is only now creeping to the fore.
Something sinister and primordial and yet strangely comforting at the same time.
But nowhere is it more palpable than theBeetlejuice Beetlejuicepress tour.
Not the Goth Girl Summer of 2022, mind you, which was the sartorial equivalent of a semi-erection.
I mean a full-blown gothic resurrection.
Yup, the bats have once again left the belfry; welcome to the season of the witch.
She is in mourning for her life.
Shes a teenager, duh!
Its the perfect encapsulation of the blistering coming-of-age experience and sums up the gothic condition entirely.
Very mad, very maudlin, very macabre.
And with a wardrobe as dark as her undereye bags, she was also a total style icon.
Its no wonder the worlds gone goth; its the only way to deal with all this darkness.
Like all post-war subcultures, goth was born out of a need to rage against the machine.
By 1979, a storm was brewing.
Margaret Thatcher had ascended to power, and there was a string of strikes and national acts of violence.
These were scary times, and Britains youth needed a subculture that would reflect this.
Which is precisely what being goth was all about: embracing the horror.
That said, it borrowed tropes from both.
By the time the 90s rolled around, the subculture had splintered into various movements.
However, things had dissipated by the mid-00s.
Naturally, goth was still rattling around, but only in the creases and crevices of culture.
Fast forward to today, and its started to seep back into the mainstream.
And we have the return ofBeetlejuiceto thank for that.
In the words of the ghost with the most himself: Its showtime!
So, what do goths look like in 2024?
Well, there isnt a definitive answer.
Goth isMariacarla Boscono at theBeetlejuicepremiere, a ghostly apparition in an Ann Demeulemeester silk and feathered gown.
ItsMichele Lamys Brobdingnagian Comme des Garcons proportionsandErykah Badus towering witchy hats.
Its Doja CatsMephistophelian prostheticsandBillie Eilishs vampire fangs.
At their core, goths are outsiders, disruptors, rebels.
Yes, there is an underlying look, but goth is so much more than an aesthetic.
Its not some fair-weather trend, or yesterdays viral news piece.
Its an attitude, and an unapologetic way of life.
Indeed, just like Winona, goth is forever.
