Goth’s undying legacy has been around since the late 1970’s and it’s extreme dark aesthetic continues to permeate mainstream culture today.
It’s ability to reinvent itself and evolve has made it one of the most enduring of London subcultural tribes, with the new generation incorporating high-fashion and runway looks into their club wear. Students of LCF are eager to show off their new designs, while others have the freedom to wear some of the more extreme garments from the stalwarts of dark fashion such as Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh and Comme Des Garcons. Freedom of expression has always been essential to Goth, and it’s play with gender predated the current gender movement.
Boys wear dresses, paint their nails and peacock their hair and makeup, with many girls shaving their heads and wearing aggressive BDSM clothes, and not to mention the very many gender variants in between.
The scene gathers at a dilapidated scrap metal factory in Angel called Electroworkz; the industrial and heavily graffitied building is in harmony with the underground goth, industrial and techno music it houses. The club night Slimelight (a play on New York’s infamous and now defunct Lime Light) celebrates it’s 30th this year, while Kaos, which is 15 years old, regularly hosts international DJ’s, many of whom come directly from “Berlin’s most exclusive club” Berghain. The party starts at midnight on Saturday, and runs until 8am Sunday, with many continuing the party to warehouses and squat rave”. [Official Website]