By Karen Yossman

If you thought World Goth Day was 31 October, think again. In the wise words of Cady Heron, “Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” World Goth Day, on the other hand, which falls every year on 22 May, is the annual celebration of a stylish sub-culture that has penetrated fashion, film and music since the 80s.

Goth, which has roots in eighteenth-century art and literature, exploded into pop culture in the 80s thanks to alternative bands like The Cure and Bauhaus, who cultivated a vampiric look with pale skin, black hair and lashings of eyeliner, and more mainstream acts like Madonna, who was single-handedly responsible for turning rosary beads and cross pendants into must-have accessories.

Inevitably the look soon worked its way up from the streets of London and New York to the catwalks of Milan and Paris, where, even now, it reappears every couple of seasons. One of our favourite incarnations was Gucci’s 2002 Winter collection, which saw pallid models walk the runway in tattered black gowns and chokers with crosses, while, at Fashion Week earlier this year, Giorgio Armani debuted long velvet coats and raven-haired models that wouldn’t have looked out of place in vampire film franchise Underworld.

Even bridalwear has gone goth, taking a leaf out of Tim Burton’s animated classic, The Corpse Bride. Last year both 90210 actress Shanae Grimes and pop punk princess Avril Lavigne wore black dresses at their weddings, Shanae opting for an ethereal Vera Wang number while Avril accessorised her noir Monique Lhuillier gown with a bouquet of black roses.



And Shanae and Avril aren’t the only stars who’ve gone over to the dark side. While actors like Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie and Kristen Stewart have always marched to the beat of their own drum – jettisoning colour for dark, shaggy locks and serious attitude – even the more upbeat celebs like to mix it up occasionally, from Kim Kardashian’s baby sis, Kendall Jenner, who knows how to rock a black lipstick, to Gossip Girl actress turned rock singer Taylor Momsen to Rihanna and Katy Perry, who both like to bring out the chains and leather occasionally (hey, RiRi even sang about it on S&M),

And then, of course, there’s teen anti-hero Lorde, whose unquestionably goth-inspired look has won her a MAC cosmetics contract (featuring purple lipstick, black eyeliner) while even Kate Moss has included leather jackets and grungy black gowns in her most recent Topshop collection. Meanwhile Angelina Jolie returns to form for her latest role, all pale skin and black robes as bad fairy Maleficent.

So on May 22nd, take a cue from Lorde, Angie and the rest and embrace your inner goth. Just ditch the bronzer, go nuts with some kohl and choose an outfit that screams attitude. Oh, and remember, you can wear any colour - so long as it’s black.