Couture for Vampires: How Gothic Romance Sunk Its Teeth Into Paris Fashion Week

It’s a good time to go goth.

Across culture, entertainment, and art, the '80s subculture known for its all-black trappings and anachronistic aesthetic has unexpectedly reemerged in 2025. In the decor world, “Medieval Modern” (think: church pew shades of wood, ominous tapestries, and Caravaggio-esque lighting) is having an unexpected moment on social media. Gabbriette’s succubus-chic makeup is trending again, while Pat McGrath's newly released glass mask product brings vampire skin to the masses. And on the style front, the Nosferatu film's gloomy glamour and ruffled bonnets have sent many a fashion girl into a goth tailspin.

At Couture Fashion Week this January, designers embraced their dark sides, too, channeling 18th-century techniques and Gothic horror. Dramatic details were everywhere in the form of Edwardian puffed sleeves and Elizabethan corsetry. Stiff Victorian crinoline stalked the runways like a vampire after midnight. There was even more moody black eveningwear on display in Paris than usual. Plus, the shows' unsettling and fantastical backdrops (e.g., billowing dark sails and occult murals) looked straight out of a Robert Eggers flick.

Resplendent horrors lurked around every corner and arrondissement this season. On January 28, an eclectic Armani Privè show went goth in a series of slinky flapper-with-a-past dresses, black velvet trimmings, and dramatic winged liner. Hours before, Chanel had showcased an uncharacteristically Byronic set of gauzy frocks in black lace between the brand's usual pastels and tweeds. And at Daniel Roseberry's Icarus-inspired Schiaparelli on Monday, black colorblocking cast a shadow over the champagne and gold palette, nodding to the Greek hero's tragic ending. (He does fall from the sky eventually.)

At Jean Paul Gaultier, the brand's latest guest designer, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, created arguably the most unique take on doomed romance with a nautical goth collection. The show featured a ghost ship headdress (complete with tiny, threadbare black sails), a sultry black fishing net dress, and a soaked corset gown that appeared as if it had just washed up on shore. Set against desolate, slate-gray scenery, models with stringy, ocean-steeped hair and forlorn faces appeared like doomed mermaids walking on water. The clothes were Rime of the Ancient Mariner goes to Berghain—a novel concept if I ever heard one—making it an unforgettable couture debut for the rising designer.

Dior, on the other hand, churned out a Victorian Alice in Wonderland-inspired collection that unfurled like a twisted fairytale. Designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, feather capes, tulle culottes, and elegant tailcoats graced the runway in shades of black and white. Mythological creatures and evil eyes looked on from a folkloric art installation created by Rithika Merchant. It was, in short, a surreal playground, drawing heavily on the centuries-old sartorial references goths know and love—and the brand's most well-received showing for 2025.

The most melodramatic of all was Alessandro Michele's first couture collection for Valentino. Cumbersome, crinoline-lined ballgowns (so much crinoline this season) and creepy Venetian masks brought the goth factor, and a pageant of paniers, bell sleeves, and high collars nodded to the past (and Interview With a Vampire movie set). It was, as all Michele's shows are, a visual feast—and several looks appeared to be of the blood-sucking variety.

Is this sartorial love sickness a seasonal affliction or a long-term diagnosis for the fashion industry? The culture points to the latter. If you haven't noticed, pessimism is in. The coquette trend is in desperate need of a sulky refresh. And Nosferatu remains a repulsive critical darling. And evidently, designers are on the same wavelength: Gothic romance is the dominant mood from Dior to Valentino and Jean Paul Gaultier.

So, if you romanticize the Brontë sisters, identify as a Victorian woman languishing by the sea, or fancy dressing up like you're being haunted by death itself, there's plenty of couture inspiration to be had for Fall 2025. Dead serious.

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