Best of
Goth

2008

Gothic: Dark Glamour


Valerie Steele - 2008
    “Gothic” is an epithet with a strange history – evoking images of death, destruction, and decay. Ironically, its negative connotations have made the gothic an ideal symbol of rebellion for a wide range of cultural outsiders. Popularly associated with black-clad teenagers and rock musicians, gothic fashion encompasses not only subcultural styles (from old-school goth to cyber-goth and beyond) but also high fashion by such designers as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano of Christian Dior, Rick Owens, Olivier Theyskens, and Yohji Yamamoto. Fashion photographers, such as Sean Ellis and Eugenio Recuenco, have also drawn on the visual vocabulary of the gothic to convey narratives of dark glamour. As the text and lavish illustrations in this book suggest, gothic fashion has deep cultural roots that give it an enduring potency.

Gothic & Lolita Bible, Volume 1


Jenna Winterberg - 2008
    A quarterly mook (magazine/book hybrid) that's a combination fashion magazine, culture guide, and art book, the Bible caters to fans of two separate but related fashions: Gothic and--to a greater extent--Lolita. Volume 1 of the U.S. edition offers content from four volumes of this definitive Japanese mook for the first time in English, along with exciting original content covering the Gothic and Lolita culture in North America.

Walking the Twilight Path: A Gothic Book of the Dead


Michelle Belanger - 2008
    Become familiar with this intrinsic, yet denied, aspect of our lives as you contact your spirit companion, meditate on gravestone sculptures, create a necromantic medicine bag, and keep a personal book of the dead. Drawing on the wisdom of shamans, magicians, Tibetan Buddhists, and ancient Egyptians, Michelle Belanger illuminates death as a gateway to change and regeneration. On this life-affirming journey, you will visit the “Otherside,” reach out to spirits, and become a walker between worlds to experience healing and empowerment.     “Walking the Twilight Path shows us that life is a wonderful experience that can only be fully appreciated once we accept our physical mortality. An excellent beginners guide.” —Leilah Wendell, author of The Necromantic Ritual Book

Hell Bound: New Gothic Art


Francesca Gavin - 2008
    Illustrators, street artists, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers, installation artists, and painters are all reflecting this renewed interest in gothic imagery. Horror has become a more accepted part of everyday lifeand art, as always, is a reflection of life. Here death metal, the war on terror and throwaway pop culture meet, feeding the popular fascination for all things gothic.Among the art featured is the iconoclastic work of Ken Kagami, Terence Koh, Ricky Swallow, the photographic collages of Marnie Weber, the drawings of Chloe Piene and Wes Lang, the paintings of Matt Greene and Iris Van Dongen, the outsider punk art of Pure Evil, and the illustrations of French.