Mall goths (also known as spooky kids) [1] are a subculture that began in the late-1990s in the United States. Originating as a pejorative to describe people who dressed goth for the fashion rather than culture, it eventually developed its own culture based around nu metal, industrial metal, emo and the Hot Topic store chain. It has variously been described as a part of the goth subculture, [2] [3] as well as a separate subculture simply influenced by goth. [4] [5]
"Mall goth" is derived from the words "mall" and "goth", referencing how many participants of the subculture would often spend time at shopping malls. In particular, it often references their buying of items from Hot Topic. The term began as pejorative, connoting solely being interested in goth for its fashion, rather than the subculture itself, similar to the use of poseur. [7] [8] Marilyn Manson and Amy Lee were influential upon the culture's development. [5] [9] [10] According to Adolescent writer Angelina Zaphyria, it began as a fusion of the cultures of the existing goth, third wave emo and nu metal movements, [4] however according to Fashion writer Isabel Slone, it "combined the hallmarks of punk, goth and metal subcultures". [11]
In an article for The A.V. Club, writer Sean O'Neal credited The Crow as one of the main reasons for the subculture's popularity. [12] At this time, mall goths often listened to nu metal bands like Korn, Slipknot, Kittie, and Mudvayne, [13] [14] and industrial metal bands like Rammstein, White Zombie and Marilyn Manson. [15] During this period, animosity between mall goths and traditional goths was common. The conflict between the two cultures arose through many traditional goths perceiving mall goths to be simply interested in the fashion, and having little interest in gothic rock and the bands that spawned the subculture. [16] Additionally, some goths considered mall goth to be a commercialisation of goth. [15] In the early 2000s, mall goth gained further notoriety in the mainstream, and became increasingly associated with the emo subculture, emo pop music and groups such as My Chemical Romance. [17] [18] [19] With the increased usage of the internet and social media, mall goths became frequent users of sites such as MySpace [20] and Pure Volume. [21]
Although, during its original popularity the subculture was mostly dominated by white people, the revival brought about an increased ethnic diversity, with people like Lil Uzi Vert and Aaron Philip becoming notable participants. To the extent that, in an article published on 22 May 2018 by Fashion, writer Isabel Slone cited Lil Uzi Vert's appearance at the 2018 Grammy Awards as "perhaps the most visible moment of the mall goth revival", through his wearing of bondage trousers and multiple wallet chains. [11] MetalHammer writer Alice Pattillo credited Instagram accounts such as @1990smallgoth as a key part of the continued popularity of the subculture. [22] During 2020, the subculture's popularity increased through trending videos on TikTok. [23]
Fashion items such as platform boots and oversized sweatshirts and trousers are common amongst mall goths, as well as striped and checkered prints. [24] They are often associated with wearing brands such as Lip Service, Tripp, [7] JNCO [25] and Demonia. [4] Chunky and platform sneakers were common, especially Buffalo. [26] In an article for Elle , one former mall goth described that they wore "ankh necklace, combat boots over striped tights and did my eyeliner in a style that could only be described as raccoon-esque". [27] Items such as pleather, chokers, creeper shoes and lip rings are all common. [28] W writer Katherine Cusumano described Kristen Stewart's outfit on September 22 2016, of "bold swipe of black liquid liner, the deep reddish magenta under-eye liner, the slightly yellowed bleach job, and the padlocked necklace" as notably mall goth. [29] In an article for Refinery29, Goth DJ and scholar Andi Harriman stated "Most Goths don't wear a lot of neon, face masks, or those over-the-knee stripy socks, basically anything Mall Goths wear". [30]
Mall goths' hair is often dyed, particularly using Manic Panic dye. [31] Sometimes hair is dyed two different colours. Some mall goths wear mullets. [32]
During the subculture's revival, it became common for mall goths to wear baggy trousers contrasted with small tops. This look capitalised upon the "big pants, little shirt" fashion trend that was popular in the late 2010s and early 2020s. [33]
According to an article by WM Magazine, mall goth fashion was an influence upon the popularity of the normcore and scumbro fashion styles that became popular in the 2010s. [31] Indie rock band Pale Waves' aesthetic is also influenced by mall goth. [34] [35]
In the mid-to-late 2010s, rappers such as Lil Peep [36] and Lil Uzi Vert [11] and singers Kim Petras [37] and Benee [38] began dressing in ways influenced by the fashion of mall goth. Additionally, a number of brands began creating fashion lines influenced by the subculture's fashion. In particular, Marc Jacobs' and Louis Vuitton's autumn 2016 collections, Dilara Findikoglu's collection from Spring 2018, Coach New York's pre-Autumn 2018 collection and Gypsy Sport's collection from autumn 2018, as well as a number of items from Open Ceremony from early 2018, all referenced the subculture. [11] Additionally, mainstream celebrities such as Kanye West, Lorde, Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid were photographed in mall goth outfits. [39] [25]
Mall goth influenced the fashion of the e-girls and e-boys subculture in the late 2010s and early 2020s. [40] [41]
Goth is a music-based subculture that began in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s. It was developed by fans of gothic rock, an offshoot of the post-punk music genre. Post-punk artists who presaged the gothic rock genre and helped develop and shape the subculture include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, the Cure, and Joy Division.
Emo is a music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and post-hardcore from the mid-1980s Washington, D.C. hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands Rites of Spring and Embrace, among others, pioneered the genre. In the early-to-mid 1990s, emo was adopted and reinvented by alternative rock, indie rock, punk rock, and pop-punk bands, including Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Cap'n Jazz, and Jimmy Eat World. By the mid-1990s, Braid, the Promise Ring, and the Get Up Kids emerged from Midwest emo, and several independent record labels began to specialize in the genre. Meanwhile, screamo, a more aggressive style of emo using screamed vocals, also emerged, pioneered by the San Diego bands Heroin and Antioch Arrow. Screamo achieved mainstream success in the 2000s with bands like Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, Story of the Year, Thursday, the Used, and Underoath.
Gothic fashion is a clothing style marked by dark, mysterious, antiquated, homogeneous, and often genderless features. It is worn by members of the goth subculture. Typical gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, exotic hairstyles, dark lipstick and dark clothing. Both male and female goths can wear dark eyeliner, dark nail polish and lipstick for a dramatic effect. Male goths use cosmetics at a higher rate than other men. Styles are often borrowed from the punk fashion and can also draw influence from Victorians and Elizabethan fashion. Goth fashion is sometimes confused with heavy metal fashion and emo fashion.
A rivethead or rivet head is a person associated with the industrial dance music scene. In stark contrast to the original industrial culture, whose performers and heterogeneous audience were sometimes referred to as "industrialists", the rivethead scene is a coherent youth culture closely linked to a discernible fashion style. The scene emerged in the late 1980s on the basis of electro-industrial, EBM, and industrial rock music. The associated dress style draws on military fashion and punk aesthetics with hints of fetish wear, mainly inspired by the scene's musical protagonists.
The 20th century saw the rise and fall of many subcultures.
Bondage pants or bondage trousers are trousers with zippers, straps, chains, rings and buckles, giving an appearance of a BDSM style. They come in a variety of colors and patterns; one of the most common patterns being tartan. Bondage pants also come in a variety of styles, including tight or baggy, long, short or Capri.
Slim-fit pants or skinny jeans are tight trousers that have a snug fit through the legs and end in a small leg opening that can be anywhere from 9" to 20" in circumference, depending on size. Other names for this style include drainpipes, stovepipes, tight pants, cigarette pants, pencil pants, skinny pants, gas pipes, skinnies, and tight jeans.
The Toronto goth scene, the cultural locus of the goth subculture in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the associated music and fashion scene, has distinct origins from goth scenes of other goth subcultural centres, such as the UK or Germany. Originally known as the "Batcavers", the term "goth" appeared only after 1988, when it was applied to the pre-existent subculture. Distinctive features included internationally recognized gothic and vampiric fashion store 'Siren', a goth-industrial bar named 'Sanctuary: The Vampire Sex Bar', and Forever Knight, a television series about an 800-year-old vampire living in Toronto. In Toronto, the goths did not seek to reject mainstream status, and achieved partial acceptance throughout the mid to late 1990s.
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Symere Bysil Woods, known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert and often referred to as simply Lil Uzi or Uzi, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Philadelphia, they gained initial recognition following the release of the commercial mixtape Luv Is Rage (2015), which led to a recording contract with Atlantic Records, to whom they signed under DJ Drama's Generation Now imprint.
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Gustav Elijah Åhr, known professionally as Lil Peep, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He was a member of the emo rap collective GothBoiClique. Helping pioneer an emo revival-style of rap and rock music, Lil Peep has been credited as a leading figure of the mid–late 2010s emo rap scene and came to be an inspiration to outcasts and youth subcultures.
Emo rap is a fusion genre of hip hop and emo music. Originating in the SoundCloud rap scene in the mid-2010s, the genre fuses characteristics of hip hop music, such as beats and rapping, with the lyrical themes, instrumentals, and vocals commonly found in emo music. Lil Peep, XXXTentacion, and Juice Wrld are some of the most notable musicians in the genre.
EDM trap is a fusion genre of hip hop, rave music and EDM, that originated in the early 2010s on peaking popularity of big room house and trap music genres. It blends elements of trap, which is an offshoot of Southern hip hop, with elements of electronic dance music like build-ups, drops, sound designs, productions and breakdowns. As it was popularized, it increasingly began incorporating more pop elements.
E-girls and e-boys, sometimes collectively known as e-kids, are a youth subculture of Gen Z that emerged in the late 2010s, notably popularized by the video-sharing application TikTok. It is an evolution of emo, scene and mall goth fashion combined with Japanese and Korean street fashion.
The fashions of the 2020s represent a departure from 2010s fashion and feature a nostalgia for older aesthetics. They have been largely inspired by styles of the early-to-mid-2000s, late 1990s, 1980s, 1970s, and 1960s. Early in the decade, several publications noted the shortened trend and nostalgia cycle in 2020s fashion.
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