This week on campus, between the usual sea of grey hoodies, tote bags and Sambas, I saw a girl who completely stood out. She was walking across the quad like she had her own soundtrack playing. She wore a long black lace skirt with heavy platform boots, a fitted corset-style top, layered silver necklaces, and the most dramatic winged eyeliner I’ve ever seen in real life. Her long black coat flowed behind her, and her dark lipstick somehow made the whole look feel powerful instead of intimidating. I couldn’t stop staring not because it was strange, but because it was so confident.
As an Indian girl experiencing goth culture properly for the first time, I was fascinated. Back home, dressing differently can sometimes invite too many questions. Here, it felt normal and even admired. After my lecture (very on brand for a journalism student), I went down a research rabbit hole about goth culture. I learned that it’s deeply connected to music, art and self-expression not just “wearing black.” It’s about mood, creativity and rejecting the idea that you have to dress like everyone else to belong.
I also discovered Damaged Society, a UK alternative fashion retailer that stocks brands popular within goth and alternative communities. It made me realise this isn’t just one girl dressing differently, it’s a whole aesthetic with history and identity behind it.
In a campus culture where trends blend into each other, she chose individuality.
But what stayed with me wasn’t the research. It was how she walked shoulders back, completely unbothered. In a campus culture where trends blend into each other, she chose individuality. And as someone who’s still figuring out who I am in a new country, that felt strangely comforting.
Maybe the best thing about studying in the UK isn’t just the degree. It’s seeing people dress like their truest selves and slowly finding the confidence to do the same.