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“Wannabe Goths” Are Back: Inside the Mall Goth’s Revival
Before e-girls and e-boys dominated the fashion trends of Instagram and TikTok, there were mall goths: the underrated heroes of alternative culture.
If you can recall the early 2000s, you most likely have vague memories of teenagers embodying the mall goth aesthetic: Tripp NYC bondage pants, eyebrow piercings, studded chokers and wrist cuffs, and, of course, the quintessential band T-shirt. “Mall goth” was used to describe the style of dress that came out of the nu metal subculture that began in the 1990s, consisting of music that fused metal, punk, goth, and hip-hop. Bands such as Korn, HIM, Deftones, and Kittie soundtracked the era that was filled with angst and rebellion, presenting a new wave of eccentricity divergent from normativity.
Like all fashion trends of the past, mall goth has been making a resurgence in alternative fashion. The mall goth hashtag has over 73.3 million views on TikTok and almost 35,000 shares on Instagram, as posts of mall goth-inspired outfits and accounts dedicated to images reminiscent of the fashion and music of the era gain traction daily.
Instagram account @1990smallgoth documents the nu metal goths of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Their feed is filled with throwback photos of original mall goths and famous nu metal musicians from the era, alongside the account…
