Wednesday’s Fashion Sweeping the Globe With Gothic Eleganza

Written by: Nadim Kassymov

Based on the iconic Addams Family centering on the life of Wednesday Adams, the coming-of-age supernature comedy entitled Wednesday has swept viewers with its release this month on Netflix. Its debut was strong and critically acclaimed, surpassing Stranger Things 4 in the most hours viewed in a week for a Netflix Series with 341.2 hours watched in its first week, also becoming Netflix’s number one in 83 countries, and the second most followed pre-release on the platform.

With its popularity based on a culturally-loved 1930s comic strip that surpassed the lengths of time, it was met with praise not only for its authenticity to the original but also its fashion – replicating the foundational works while revitalizing goth couture in mainstream media.

“It All Started.. With a Little Black Dress”

With one of the most loveable misanthropes, Wednesday Addams makes a rebooted debut after 80 years of iterations in comic books, films, theatre, and television – the fashion on the show stayed true to the predecessor while incorporating modern Gen-Z stylings in a creative mix with help of the show’s costume designer, Colleen Atwood.

Speaking with Harpers Bazaar, Atwood describes the initial stages of the set’s costuming, “It all started with the familiar Wednesday that we all know—with the little black dress. We made the collar a little more pointed, but the idea was to do an homage everyone would be familiar with.” The designer says finding new colourings of black was the most tricky part, ensuring that Wednesday’s outfits don’t fall flat. To achieve this, Atwood used many types of black ranking from leather, semi-reflective, to a black and white combination – seldom using solid black to create a variance.

Sustainability was also in mind during the costuming, as Atwood sourced most of her material for Wednesday from vintage, the 60s and 70s “odd” pieces to contemporary wear.

Wednesday in 2022

Paying an homage to its history, in the 2022 Netflix iteration Wednesday still wears her favourite black dress in the show but with a floral pattern, padded shoulders, and the beloved pointed collar that Atwood has mentioned, all alongside a pair of platform boots.

We also get some brand new looks as the story sets around a private school, Nevermore Academy where Wednesday gets sent. It perfectly captures the dark academia aesthetic, recently popularized by the younger generation, currently having over 3.3 billion views on TikTok alone. Wednesday wears a knitted vest, black tie, and collared shirt layered over a striped blazer jacket with an extended skirt.

Themes of femininity are also showcased in this series, with the famous school dance scene featuring her wearing a vintage AlaÏna black dress with ruffled textures, a look that has kept the internet in a chokehold – praising the costuming to be on brand with the iconic Addams look while incorporating new designs that we have not seen on Wednesday before.

Impact in Fashion

There is no doubt that the Addams Family has played a huge part in the culture of media and entertainment, but it has also influenced fashion greatly throughout its time – bringing to life goth and chic elements.

It can be seen across many 2022-2023 fashion shows this year, most notably starting with Rick Owens‘s Fall/Winter fashion catalog. Morticia Addams’s iconic looks seemed reminiscent throughout the show, highlighting a black maxi dress paired with long hair and droopy sleeves. Or the look based on ruffled hair and a large fur overcoat liking the looks of Lurch, the Addams Family’s butcher.

The Fall/Winter show from Valentino certainly looked the part as well, which was focused on its new fuchsia shade entitled PinkPP created alongside Patone that featured everyone on the backdrops while focusing on black monochromatic looks for the presentation. Goth and victorian themes were dominating the show, mixing codes such as leather black shoes and victorian-styled long dresses – it was truly a sight to see.

Other shows paralleling that of the Addams Family include Versace’s Spring/Summer, Vetement’s Fall/Winter, and Bottega Veneta’s Fall/Winter collections for 2022-2023.

Monday, Tuesday... Wednesday

Jenna Ortega’s acclaimed acting alongside her cast in the new Addams Family iteration is astounding and exciting, pairing alongside a revitalized fashion sense has boosted Wednesday into everyone’s hearts once again. The new Netflix series has shown how fashion can be timeless, yet also upcycled to modern tastes, combining old with the new while retaining all of its authenticity.

It shows us the value of circular fashion and how a time capsule wardrobe will be able to withstand the lengths of time to offer a fresh new look on fashion. To uprise your own Closset™, ÀLA.HAUSSE is the circular fashion network where you can buy, sell, lend, and rent your pieces within seconds – perhaps even finding some gothic, dark academia pieces for your next Wednesday-inspired look!

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