W Magazine Goth Spread, originally uploaded by Coilhouse.

Something about mainstream magazine depictions of goth never looks quite right to me, but I can’t put my finger on what it is. Are the girls too beautiful? No, that’s not it; the scene has plenty of model-esque types, and their visibility has only increased the past few years with the rise of the “internet model”. Are the clothes lacking something? Not in this case, at least – although personally I think our best designers do it better. Is it the makeup? Nah – here, the makeup artists’ carefully-researched, Siouxsie-inspired flourishes pretty much nail it. I think I just realized what it is; whenever high-fashion people try to capture goth, everyone is just so damn serious about it. Anyone in the scene today with the balls and style needed to pull off this look would be grinning from ear to ear about it.

Originally posted by my friend Kat – see her entry for larger pics of the above.

One simply cannot have a Coilhouse without mentioning Nick Knight, one of the greatest photographers of our time. This image is as inspirational to me now as it was when I first saw it in Torture Garden’s Body Probe book, back when I was wee. Thank you, Nick, for warping my mind.

He’s got a blog, by the way.

nuclear holocaust, treat originally uploaded by Coilhouse.

Beautiful + eerie photo by Pavel Lagutin.
Nuclear holocaust, sure – but who needs pants?