Meh... ( )

I own several of Valerie Steele's books and they never disappoint. This one is no different. Reading like a coffee table book, it provides an extensive history on Gothic literature, architecture, art, etc. and how it inspired fashion, from Victorian mourning dresses to the raw, experimental clothing of the first Gothic scene sprung out of the punk movement in the late 70's, the New Romantics, and the more recent Cybergoth and "Graver" trends. The book is filled with gorgeous photography, from street fashion shots of DIY outfits, to club kid photos, to high-fashion and couture runway and editorial shoots, featuring such designers as John Galliano, Hussein Chalayan, Rodarte, Elsa Schiaparelli, Thierry Mugler, Alexander McQueen, Comme de Garcons, and Yohji Yamamoto. There are also some beautiful drawings and paintings included. There is also a music section, entitled "Melancholy and the Macabre: Gothic Rock and Fashion" by Jennifer Park, which explores such artists as Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, The Cure, Nick Cave, The Sisters of Mercy, etc. and their fashion, both onstage and off. ( )

I enjoyed the photographs and the descriptions of those photographs in the Steele part of the book. They made sense and flowed well. Unfortunately, the bulk of the text seriously confused me at times, despite (because of?) the fact that I am somewhat familiar with this subculture. (Like the difference between Western goths and Japanese Gothic Lolitas is because GothLolis listen to visual-kei and have more established shopping options? I'm pretty sure there's something I'm missing in this comparison.) I think this would be fabulous as an exhibit and I'm sorry I missed seeing it when it was an exhibit, but in book form I had a really hard time following the thesis; it seemed to change at will. I needed more explanatory section breaks and better flow from the words and concepts than what I got from this. That said, the photographs and overall concept were really engaging and I did learn some things.

The second part of the book, specifically about goth music and written by Jennifer Park, had much tighter writing. I enjoyed learning about how influential bands like The Velvet Underground were on glam and punk rock, which lead to the development of the goth genre (as much as bands described as goth might not like the term). I was disturbed to learn about the ties between goth culture and neo-nazism -- it was mentioned only briefly, so I'm not sure if it was just the anti-establishment use of swastikas and borrowing of other imagery that created those perceived ties or if there were actual ideological ties between the groups, but... not cool, people.

Anyway, it was an overall enjoyable exploration of the goth movement, particularly in terms of fashion and music. I have no particular desire to re-read it, so hurray for libraries, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to look through it. ( )