ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES

WITH ITS DARK YET ROMANTIC, COUNTERCULTURE ROOTS, GOTHIC FASHION HAS LONG OFFERED AN ESCAPIST SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR DESIGNERS. NOW A GROWING CROP OF YOUNG, INDEPENDENT LABELS ARE MAKING IT THEIR SOUL AND PUTTING A SPELL ON CRITICS AND CUSTOMERS ALIKE.

Meet the independent labels putting a spell on critics with their embrace of escapist gothic style.

PUPPETS AND PUPPETS

What: An under-the-radar newbie that’s the brainchild of New York-based mixed media artist Carly Mark and fashion designer Ayla Argentina. Spring/Summer 2020 marks just their second season. Why know it: Of late, a theatrical mood has been settling over New York Fashion Week – often typecast as the most commercial of the big four fashion weeks – and Puppets and Puppets is one of the names breathing new life into the scene. At its latest show held last September, there were richly textured 18th-century-style gowns with vaselike proportions (the inspiration was Russian aristocracy). On the tamer end: lace slips and sharply tailored suits that made for sensuous, ’90s-inflected everyday wear after one took apart the operatic runway styling. The founders profess to be fans of costumes and narrativebased collections, making the brand one of the finest and most authentic fashion-meets-art propositions of the moment. Factor in how the eco-conscious duo make most pieces by hand at home with upcycled fabrics and the label checks off two more boxes for today’s consumers: sustainability and exclusivity. Most pieces are one-offs, save for the embroidered T-shirts, and the only way to land one for now is via email (hit up its eponymous Instagram account).