Romantic Goth
Return of the romantic goth with Little Miss Risk
Since the 80s, the Romantic Goth look has been voluminous hair, pale skin, tight black clothes, pointed boots, and silver jewelry. By the 90s, this soft and romantic style was supplanted by the more colourful and futuristic cyber styles with hard fetish elements such as latex and bondage. However, the wheel has turned again and lace is becoming more prevalent in gothic style, paving the way for the return of the Romantic Goth, with both emerging and established designers. The inspirations in gothic style today can be found in the Victorian cult of mourning, such as Gloomth and the Cult of Melancholy.
Romantic Goth (RomantiGoth) fetish items include lace collars or chokers, such as those from Art of Adornment, as well as the ubiquitous corsets and fishnet stockings. RomantiGoth style also evokes the convergence of both historical decorative arts, and avant-garde references, reflected by Decadent Designs. Elements of Japanese Gothic Lolita have crossed over to Canadian designer, Flaming Angels. High-end fashion designers Alexander McQueen and John Galliano have also been described as practicing "Haute Goth".
Tristan Risk in a Lace Embrace Victorian corset
The history of Romantic Goth style
Historically, gothic style originated from the 18th and 19th century where dark and decadent styles were rooted in nostalgia and romanticism, which in England was also known as the Romantic Period. This was seen in the most well-known romantic poets and writers such as John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley and Lord Byron.
Romanticism influenced art, music, literature and philosophy in the second half 18th century in Europe, as a revolt against aristocratic social and political norms and the scientific rationalization of nature. The Romantic movement stressed the emotive experience, including trepidation, horror, and the awe experienced in confronting the sublime found in untamed nature and the picturesque. It was during the Victorian era that the gothic literary movement emerged. One influential Gothic writer in that period was Edgar Allan Poe whose stories explore terrors, decay, death and madness, and continue to fascinate modern Romantic Goths.
A century later, the Neo-Gothic scene spawned in the late 1970's and early 1980's with the merging of the Punk and New Romantic movements. The Punks were rebellious youth who wore lots of black leather, spikes, and were the precursors of the modern piercing movement. They were angry, disdainful and aesthetically dark. In contrast, the New Romantics were flamboyant, bright and colourful, with costumes, makeup, bright hair colors and androgynous appearances. The New Romantics became "New Wave" by the early 1980's, before converging with Punk to become Gothic (or Goth). This new subculture possessed the darkness and disdain of the Punks, along with the flamboyance and androgyny of the New Romantics.
In contrast, the New Romantics were flamboyant, bright and colourful, with costumes, makeup, bright hair colors and androgynous appearances. The New Romantics became "New Wave" by the early 1980's, before converging with Punk to become Gothic (or Goth). This new subculture possessed the darkness and disdain of the Punks, along with the flamboyance and androgyny of the New Romantics.
Within the gothic subculture, RomantiGoths emerged with a focus on the dark, sensual and mysterious world of Gothic created by Victorian literature and subsequent horror B movies. This particular Gothic style featured velvet and lace, flowing clothes (often Victorian, Elizabethan or Medieval-inspired), with an erotic element. The cohorts of the Romantic Goth subculture are also known for their love of poetry, literature and the arts. The Goth subculture has also influenced painters, photographers and film makers on mystic, morbid and romantic motifs, with subjects ranging from eroticism to romantic images of vampires, ghosts and fantasy landscapes. Little Miss Risk is an example of a gothic performance artist.
Romancing Little Miss Risk
Little Miss Risk represents a new generation of Romantic Goths. A tight-lacer, she has the world’s 4th smallest cinched waist. Below, she is wearing a Lace Embrace corset, hand-painted with a ghostly nebula by gothic artist, Stacy Sakai (aka Lady Scarlet). This wearable art piece combines both the fetish, and the dark aesthetics of gothic-inspired art.
An admirer of all things dark and spooky, Little Miss Risk was probably the only teen at her high school to wear thigh-high PVC boots to school. A tried-and-true Goth, she went on to act in some B grade films with Linnea Quigley and Brinke Stevens as her inspiration throughout her late teens and early twenties. Eventually, her love of all things sparkly got the better of her though, and she turned to burlesque and corset modeling to get her glamour fix. She's in a video trailer as one of the goth girls for Goth Style Secrets for white gothic makeup.
You can also find out more about her on www.littlemissrisk.com.
Tristan Risk in a Lace Embrace corset painted by Stacy Sakai
Read more about Gothic designers with romantic styles in previous Goth Style Tips newsletters:
Flaming Angels Designs on gothic style
Gloomth and the Cult of Melancholy on gothic clothing and gothic makeup
Decadent Designs on vintage-inspired gothic designs and gothic haircuts
Art of Adornment on gothic lace
For more information on other romantic goth secrets including secrets in lace and how to wear corsets, PVC, leather and latex, read the “Step-by-Step Essential Guide to that Elusive Gothic Look & Style”.
