Wikipedia

Mall goth

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 centred 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 goths in Basel in 2005

History

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Coal Chamber was a popular mall goth band[6]

Origins

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"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]

Popularity (late 1990s–mid 2000s)

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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]

Revival (late 2010s–present)

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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 their 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

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Two mall goths at Whitby Goth Weekend in 2006

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]

Influence

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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]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wieland, Rob. "Donate $5 To Black Lives Matter & Get Over 1400 Tabletop And Video Games". Forbes. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  2. ^ Christie, Heather (28 October 2019). "It's Officially Spooky Season. Here's How To Dress For It Like An Adult". Elle. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  3. ^ Dubick, Stephanie (4 April 2017). "Elder Goths: When Growing Up Doesn't Mean Abandoning Your Favorite Youth Culture". Vice Media. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Zaphyria, Angelina. "Voguish: a guide to goth". Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b Rasmussen, Tom (11 March 2019). "The IG documenting the Hot Topic mallgoths of the 90s and 00s". Dazed. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  6. ^ Krovatin, Chris. "11 bands who single-handedly launched genres". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b Ladouceur, Liisa. Encyclopedia Gothica.
  8. ^ Nancy Kilpatrick. Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined. St. Martin's Griffin, 2004, p. 24
  9. ^ "Where Did All the Mall Goths Go?". Vice Media. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Top 11 Influential Minds of Industrial Metal". 28 August 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d Slone, Isabel (22 May 2018). "What Does the Mall Goth Nostalgia Trend Really Mean?". Fashion. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  12. ^ O'Neal, Sean (4 August 2016). "The soundtrack for The Crow resurrected grunge kids as goths". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  13. ^ Digitalis, Raven (September 2007). Goth Craft: The Magickal Side of Dark Culture. Llewellyn Worldwide Limited. p. 35.
  14. ^ Mashurov, NM (5 April 2018). "Here's To 20 Years Of Kittie". Stereogum. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. ^ a b Reed, S. Alexander (2013). Assimilate: a Critical History of Industrial Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. p. 279. ISBN 9780199832583.
  16. ^ "An Ode to Mall Goths: 10 Reasons Why it Was Cool". 6 June 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Finding Love in Mall Goth Purgatory". Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  18. ^ Reesman, Bryan. "As Convergence Festival Turns 25, A Look at the State of Goth In America". Billboard. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  19. ^ Cohen, Ian (13 February 2020). "The 100 Greatest Emo Songs of All Time". Vulture. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  20. ^ Stewart, Jess (15 December 2016). "Beauty Bar: Glam Goth". Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  21. ^ "50 Things Millennials Know That Gen-Xers Don't". Rolling Stone.
  22. ^ Pattillo, Alice (22 May 2019). "20 Reasons Why Goth Will Never". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  23. ^ "What Type Of Goth Are You ?". Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  24. ^ Mau, Dhani. "Not Even Lady Gaga Could Distract From the Goth Magic of Marc Jacobs' Fall 2016 Collection". Fashionista. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  25. ^ a b Kim, Monica (29 March 2016). "Can You Make Mall Goth Beauty Work in the Real World?". Vogue. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  26. ^ Eror, Aleks (24 May 2018). "Here's What Design Critics Think of the Chunky Sneaker Trend". Op-Ed. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  27. ^ Garts, Mary Grace (26 May 2014). "I Was A Teenage Mallgoth". Elle. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  28. ^ Mashurov, NM (5 April 2018). "Here's To 20 Years Of Kittie". Stereogum. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  29. ^ Cusumano, Katherine (24 September 2016). "Kristen Stewart Is Bringing Back Mall Goth, Edgier and More Glamorous Than Ever". W. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  30. ^ Carter, Ilse S. "What Taylor Swift & Justin Bieber Don't Get About "Goth"". Refinery29. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  31. ^ a b Tracy, Liz (6 April 2019). "Hot Topic's Mall Goth Look Helped Usher in Normcore and Scumbro Styles". Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  32. ^ Fredette, Meagan. "The Cyrus Family Totally Crushed "Carpool Karaoke"". Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  33. ^ Cartter, Eileen (16 August 2019). "Searching for The Big Pants/Little Shirt Girl". Garage Magazine. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  34. ^ Pollard, Alexandra. "Pale Waves is the goth pop hybrid you didn't know you needed". Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Pale Waves are the stuff of pop-goth dreams". 20 June 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  36. ^ Hahn, Rachel (16 November 2017). "Lil Peep, the Emo Hip-Hop Wunderkind, Is Dead at 21". Vogue. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  37. ^ Goldfine, Jael. "Kim Petras and Lil Aaron Go Full Mall-Goth". Paper. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  38. ^ Sherman, Maria (July 2020). "Benee Explained, for Ya Old Ass". Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  39. ^ Dubno, Zoe (22 May 2018). "The Complete History of the Goth Girlfriend, the Internet's Darkest Ingénue". Garage Magazine. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  40. ^ Luecke, Andrew. "The Ten Most Influential Subcultures of the Decade". Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  41. ^ Ralph, Jessica. "The five most fashion forward cult horror films". Retrieved 10 January 2021.
 
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