The Economist Goes Goth

[Hawkfall]

The Economist recently published an article entitled "Goth Culture Has Returned From the Dead" in its October 31st edition, because it feels there is currently a resurgence in all things Goth going on Apparently there are 4.6 million videos on Tiktok tagged as #goth, far more than either punk or grunge.

The Sisters get a mention:

Many of these videos are tributes to goth fashion, but TikTokers are also celebrating long-standing goth music acts. Users compile #gothmusicrecommendations, suggesting the likes of Bauhaus (formed in 1978), The Sisters of Mercy (1980) and Fields of the Nephilim (1984). On a visit to Slimelight in London, a club night which has been running since 1987, you are likely to meet people who attended the opening party as well as Gen Z goths who have only just passed the age of admission.

The article also mentions Wednesday, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and The Cure's new album, although it's statement that "the band's melancholy music is unlikely to cure a bad mood" not only is a terrible pun, but also suggests that the research for the article didn't actually involve listening to The Cure's music.

The article gives its own reason for why Goth may be having a resurgence:

Particularly important is goth’s delight in the morbid. As Mr Robb puts it: “Everyone likes a walk on the dark side.” When the geopolitical mood is ominous—as it was at goth’s creation, almost 50 years ago, and is today—goth culture embraces fear and oblivion rather than ignores it. As The Cure once sang, “It doesn’t matter if we all die...We die one after the other/Over and over.”

The article is here, though it has a paywall:

https://www.economist.com/culture/2024/ ... m-the-dead

[lazarus corporation]

The Guardian runs a "return of goth" article every year:

2023: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/ ... subculture
2022: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/202 ... r-and-lace
2021: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/202 ... th-fashion
2020: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... ding-goths

[Bartek]

Why do you hate Teh Guardian?

[lazarus corporation]

Apologies, I missed out the Guardian's 2024 "return of Goth" article: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/art ... spookiness

[Hawkfall]

I gave ChatGPT those links and asked it to imagine what 2025's article would look like (I asked it to mention the Sisters, in case you're wondering...)

Goth Never Dies: The Timeless Allure of Darkness Returns Once More

By [Imaginary Guardian Reporter]

In a world still catching its breath from the relentless cycles of trends, goth is once again resurrecting itself. Perhaps it never truly left. From TikTok-fueled "gothcore" aesthetics to a revival of the unapologetically gloomy sounds of The Sisters of Mercy, the subculture that thrives on the shadows is back in the spotlight for 2025.

Fashion week runways have never looked darker—literally. High-profile designers, from London to Milan, are embracing goth's monochromatic palette. Rick Owens' AW25 collection oozes industrial melancholy, while younger brands like The Order of Shadows pair luxurious crushed velvet with ominous chains. It’s not just the clothes; everything, from beauty trends featuring vampiric pallor to towering leather boots stomping through city streets, screams “goth is here.”

Social media is driving much of this resurgence. The "dark academia" aesthetic has morphed into a more unabashedly goth revival, thanks to influencers flaunting crucifix chokers and sheer lace dresses layered over corsets. “There’s something romantic about the refusal to be bright and happy all the time,” says 22-year-old content creator Luna Noire, who credits The Sisters of Mercy as her gateway into the subculture. Their 1987 hit This Corrosion is suddenly appearing on playlists titled “Moody AF” alongside Bauhaus and modern acts like Boy Harsher.

Indeed, The Sisters of Mercy have never seemed more relevant. A recent retrospective tour sold out venues across Europe, introducing their brooding melodies to a younger generation eager to embrace the allure of darkness. “I’m not goth, but I feel it,” one concertgoer posted on Instagram, captioning a video of the band performing against a haze of smoke and strobe lights. It’s proof that the music—and the movement—resonates across decades.

What is it about goth that keeps it circling back? Some say it’s the comfort of its timeless rebellion, a refusal to conform to the bright and the banal. Others point to its ability to adapt. In 2025, goth isn’t just leather jackets and eyeliner; it’s fluid, experimental, and queer—a space for self-expression that transcends its own clichés.

Goth, it seems, has become the ultimate survivor in a world of fleeting trends. And with every revival, it reminds us of its core tenet: beauty doesn’t need to be light to shine. As The Sisters of Mercy’s Andrew Eldritch might croon, it’s the darkness that makes us feel alive.

This time, it looks like goth is here to stay—until the next revival.

[lazarus corporation]

Perfect - perhaps the only useful use of Gen AI!

[eastmidswhizzkid]

The return of goth ? why where did it go? & why wasnt i invited? Spliters!

[Chief Cohiba]

Oh boy!

I quick-read those Guardian articles (thanks @lazarus corporation ) and, well - if one needs a reason why has issues with being called "Goth", here it is.

A Kardashian is wearing black - Goth revival! We have a pandemic - Goth revival! Tim Burton scripted a Netflix series, Goth Revival! Searches for Goth pyjamas went up 186% - Goth revival it must be!

And, if I may, some quotes: "“Flirting with goth is a perfect way for celebrities safely to give their identity an edge.” and, of course: “Many features of gothic narrative such as haunting, monstrosity and the undead are very easily read as social and political metaphors,”.

The "Goth Narrative", that's what it's all about - thanks or explaining me! So I dyed my hair black and loved Marian more than Rick Astley way back then just because I lived close to the iron curtain and was afraid of the atomic bomb, sensitive me?

I remember partying to the Sisters, Bauhaus and the Fields at the U4, the Blue Box or the Chelsea in Vienna with a bunch of guys and girls who wouldn't mind being called "Goths" (or Grufties in German speaking countries). This felt quite good. Reading this blurb doesn't.

Reading this, I'd rather don an orange hoodie and find myself puking in the same pit close to Mr. Taylor.

[Quiff Boy]

"So I dyed my hair black and loved Marian more than Rick Astley way back then just because I lived close to the iron curtain and was afraid of the atomic bomb"

is a f**king amazing (rhetorical) question tbh

[Chief Cohiba]

"So I dyed my hair black and loved Marian more than Rick Astley way back then just because I lived close to the iron curtain and was afraid of the atomic bomb"

is a f**king amazing (rhetorical) question tbh

Many thanks!

Could be quite a topic in one of those recent, or even more future publications on Goth; how much is dark youth/Goth culture affected by the threads of a specific period?

Like:

• is 60ies Psychedelia with proponents like the Doors or Roky Erikson related to Kennedy, Space Race, Black Power or the Vietnam War?

• is 80ies Dark Wave/Goth related to Thatcherism, Star Wars-age Cold war or the rise of computers/Cyber Punk?

• are 2000s Emos connected with the changes after 9/11?

• are current gothic-esque fashion trends because black looks good on Insta?

...and what is the connecting factor?

Maybe worth gazillions of publication rights and book sales, but am afraid I won't earn it. Nor are my writing skills worth spoiling a single page, nor am I free enough of doubts in the relevance of this very topic.