If you see someone wearing black, that may not make them a Goth, but if you see a member of the Goth community, chances are they are wearing black. Paul Hodkinson in his study of subcultural style and identity tells us that black is an important, overwhelming, and consistent emphasis within Gothic fashion (2002:42). He sites goths as typically having black clothing, hair, fingernails, household items, and even pet cats.

The affinity for the color black amongst today’s gothic subculture takes its roots in the development of the scene. A spin off of punk (Jarrentrup, 2000 42(1):25-26), goths (sometimes initially called noble punks) rebelled against the mainstream through art, literature, and elegance, as opposed to their other half, the punk rockers who embraced anarchy for the most. One of the main staples of their stylistic interests was that of gothic literature, partly because the media suggested that was the nature of much of the lyrical content to come out of the movement and partly because it afforded a parallel mentality to that of the noble punks. A primary tenant within gothic literature suggests that by embracing darkness and death, one can hold a greater appreciation for life (a la Shelly’s Frankenstein). The obvious color choice to represent darkness and death is, of course, black.

Another aspect to the choice of adopting black was that the goth movement in part came as a reaction to hippie and funk mentalities that had moved from their respective underground settings to the mainstream at the end of the 1970s, much of which visually was characterized by colorful clothing, artwork, and the association with drug cultures and sunlit nature scenes or emerging urban locations in which these predecessors of goth and punk could be readily found. Naturally, black could be worn to represent an opposition to these evolving and somewhat opposing subcultures.

In an interview with Valerie Steele, director of the Fashion Institute of Technology’s museum, she recounts various reasons for the gothic subculture’s choice to embrace the color black. Putting the gothic outlook on life in perspectives of social revolution and modeling itself on gothic art and literature sensibilities conflated from the many notions of what constitutes gothic throughout history, she points out that black represents simultaneously something knowledgeable and something deviant (Burstien. 2007: 260, 264). While black more commonly conjures the idea of death in Western cultures, it also embodies maturity, authority, religious leadership, at the same time as something less wholesome or dangerous, yet, romantic and elegant. Powell suggests that there is a deeper, more ironic element to the choice of black in these same contexts. The black robe of a priest, for instance, is similar to the black of a gothic outfit without the cleansing symbolism of the white collar. Goths de-contextualize black and reintroduce it into their social settings with a new twist supporting their subcultural tendencies and tastes (Powell. 2007:363).

The gothic subculture’s choice to embrace black can be considered part of what Hebdige describes as a Spectacular Subculture, or one that specifically “seeks to enact symbolic resistance through controversial and clearly recognizable visual style (Spooner. 2006:96). Hodkinson points out that there is a full spectrum of gothic styles, but they all share certain elements so they can serve as a flag to unite the movement (2002:56). Black is possibly the most prominent of these labeling devices. A recurring joke among goths is that they wear black until they can find something darker (Kilpatrick. 2004:29.), but there is some truth behind this flippant comment as well. The gothic subculture embraces the color black to mark their sensibilities of darkness, death, authority, rebellion, romance, social identity, and stylistic importance within the scene. Until they find something darker, black will be the primary choice for any gothic related subcultural representation.

Suggested Reading and Bibliography:

Baddeley, Gavin. 2002. Goth Chic: A Connoisseur’s Guide to Dark Culture. London: Plexus.
Burstein, Jessica. 2007. Material Distinctions: A Conversation with Valerie Steele in Goth: Undead Subculture, Goodlad and Bibby, eds. 257-275. Durham and London: Duke University Press.
Goodlad, Lauren M. E. and Micael Bibby, eds. 2007. Goth: Undead Subculture. Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press.
Hodkinson, Paul. 2002. Goth: Identity, Style, and Subculture. Oxford: Berg Press.
Jarrenstrup, Ansgar. 2000. Gothic - Forms and Backgrounds in The Worlds of Music, 42(1):25-50.
Kilpatrick, Nancy. 2004. The Goth Bible. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin.
Powell, Anna. 2007. God’s Own Medicine: Religion and Parareligion in U.K. Goth Culture in Undead Subculture, Goodlad and Bibby, eds. 357-375. Durham and London: Duke University Press.
Spooner, Catherine. 2006. Contemporary Gothic. London: Reaktion Books