For any of us who came of age during the goth revival of the late 90s’ and early aughts, the 2014 Grammy Awards were a fashion bellwether. Goth is dead, long live goth. From Katy Perry to Yoko Ono, Queen Bey to our Lorde, the signs all point to a revival. So dust off your Hot Topic threads and lament ever letting your mom Goodwill your favorite crushed velvet pants.
At first, it seemed just like business as usual. Sure Ozzy was on the red carpet doing his part to keep the goth scene on life support but one musician in a lavender lined formal duster does not a movement make.
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Then Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon hit the carpet like a mirage of late 90s fashion. Top hat, fitted bodice, squared off platforms with rubber soles, mesh top, and that’s just on Ms. Yoko. By the way, we can all only hope to still look this stunning at eighty!
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Madonna might have looked like a pimp but those wide-legged slacks are at least a distant cousin to all our black JNCO jeans. She just needed the wallet chain. And any goth worth their salt – and within driving distance of a Hot Topic – had a low rent version of her rockin’ chain mail slave bracelet.
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And just when you thought this goth revival was merely a bunch of elderly icons holding onto the fashion of their youth, Miguel turns up in pleather pants. PLEATHER. PANTS. There is no sensation that quite mimics the feeling of pleather sticking to you as you try to shimmy out of them at the end of the night. And is that tasteful wallet chain or silver embossing on the pockets? Either way, yes good.
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Once the Grammys got going, Queen Bey got in on the goth action. Leather straps vaguely reminiscent of a bird cage isn’t as in your face as the others but hey, it still counts. Low key and classy.
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Of course Lorde, poster girl for the new goth movement, was on point. Anyone want to take bets on how long until non-toxic washable spray paint to match your nail polish is being sold at Claire’s stores across America?
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Or maybe she’ll just usher back in the trend of long dark hair, burgundy lips, and black nail polish. And sheath dresses. Somewhere in the distance Calvin Klein is unfurling a massive amounts of satin material.
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Cyndi Lauper may have literally time traveled to find lace up pants. Remember lace up pants? What a pain to wash but so fashionable from 1997-2003. AND she’s wearing a cape. AND a slave bracelet. Albeit a little less garish than Madonna’s but you can either wear a gaudy bracelet or a choker that weighs half your body weight. Not both.
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Even Ciara got in on the act at the Grammy Awards after-party. A leather and beadwork trench coat is the perfect way to accessorize your pregnancy.
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Of course, no one did more to turn the fashion eye back towards all things gothic than Katy Perry. The bubblegum and candy motif she was working for last few years shed its final traces during her performance of ‘Dark Horse’. Between the set design, the clothing, and the mock striptease using a broomstick as a pole, Perry was equal parts ‘Hocus Pocus’ and ‘American Horror Story: Coven’.
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Perry basically reads as a checklist to the subculture: Ironic cross? Check. Spiderweb mesh on shirt? Check. Crushed velvet? Check. Dark color scheme? Check. Fashion fishnets? Check. Long dark hair? Check. Shredded skirt? Check. About the only thing she forget is to get a Chinese dragon screen printed onto her shirt.
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What do you guys think? Are we seeing the beginnings of a revival or just a series of fashion coincidences?