Jenna Ortega is known for her goth looks on the red carpet. Photo: AP
Goth fashion – say it three times and Jenna Ortega will probably manifest. The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star is THE absolute icon when it comes to the trend.
Her red carpet looks always comprise glamorously grungy designs, with the favoured colour being black.
Ortega first shot to prominence in 2022, appearing as the lead for Netflix series Wednesday.
It is not about her dressing to be in character though. In an interview with WSJ Magazine last year, she said that black had always been her “genuine style”.
“I’ve always respected goth culture. I’ve always had a darker sense of humour, but I never felt like I was able to express that,” she told Vogue, about finally being able to embrace her true self.
Both Wednesday and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice are comedy horrors that have helped pushed the popularity of goth fashion.
Read more: Emily Cooper versus Wednesday Addams: Who is the ultimate fashion icon?
Zendaya brought goth to the Met Gala red carpet this year. Photo: GivenchyBefore that though, there was American Horror Story: Coven. Telling the story of witches, this series spawned a viral meme with the phrase: “On Wednesdays, we wear black.”
It is a clapback at the popular girls clique of the film Mean Girls, in which the characters say the rule is to wear pink on Wednesdays.
Pink – also as seen in the Barbie film – symbolises purity and sweetness. It is the very antithesis of goth fashion, which favours black or other muted shades.
In May this year, goth fashion took over the Met Gala. Dark colours, lace, leather and velvet were seen in the red carpet dressing of celebrities like Zendaya (who wore two different outfits), Charlie XCX, Dua Lipa, Cardi B and more.
The Met Gala theme, “The Garden Of Time”, takes are after a 1962 dystopian short story by JG Ballard. It uses a garden as a metaphor for cycles of human creation and destruction.
On the fashion runways, goth looks have appeared again and again.
Dior’s Spring/Summer 2024 show for example, saw models wearing black designs with moody makeup, slicked-back hair and chokers. Thom Browne’s Autumn/Winter 2015 collection was so morose that people began calling it “mourning clothes”.
Read more: The appeal of dressing like a villain: Bold colours, edgy fashion designs
The Autumn/Winter 1997 Comme Des Garcons collection was just as dark – the models looked like aliens, or rather, Miss Havisham, a character in Charles Dickens’ 1861 novel Great Expectations who insists on wearing her wedding dress for the rest of her life.
There are certain designers who are applauded for their dark yet glamorous aesthetic though.
Consider Ann Demeulemeester – she is known for favouring black leather and dark colours in her creations, which give them a rebellious feel.
Alexander McQueen, Anna Sui, John Galliano and Yohji Yamamoto are among the many others also known favouring goth looks, where their designs often come off as brash and edgy.
