In this Halloween centennial special, we have the sublime honor of being joined by one of our all-time heroes Valerie Steele, fashion studies trailblazer and director of the Museum at FIT, to discuss all things Gothic, inspired by her seminal book Gothic: Dark Glamour. We explore the aesthetic’s medieval origins and trace its cultural evolution through literature, art, and architecture all the way to the rise of the Goth subculture in the 1970s and beyond, covering Victorian dandies, sexy vampires, McQueen skull scarves, Japanese couturiers, and more.

Thanks so much to Valerie for joining us!

Links:

The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology

Gothic: Dark Glamour by Valerie Steele and Jennifer Park

Gothic: Dark Glamour exhibition at MFIT on Google Arts & Culture

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu

Goth Talk: Christina Ricci - Saturday Night Live

“Very Mad, Very Maudlin, Very Macabre: It’s Showtime for the Goth Revival” by Tish Weinstock for Vogue

How to Be a Goth: Notes on Undead Style by Tish Weinstock

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Ep. 100: Gothic w/ Dr. Valerie Steele