Gothic Aesthetic Gains Popularity in Weddings

A growing number of brides in 2026 are embracing a gothic aesthetic for their weddings, marked by elements such as torn tulle, spectral lace, and dramatic, often macabre, designs. This trend reflects a shift toward darker, more theatrical themes in wedding fashion, contrasting with traditional, romantic styles.

Notable Gothic Weddings in 2026

This trend has been exemplified by figures such as Gabbriette, who married singer Matty Healy of The 1975 in a Victorian-inspired dress designed by Matières Fécales. The gown, a first wedding creation by the subversive designer duo, featured a four-tiered voluminous silhouette and intentionally damaged finishes, drawing inspiration from Winona Ryder's crimson red dress in Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola.

Gothic Influences in Celebrity Weddings

Emma Roberts also embraced the gothic theme when she married Cody John in a tulle dress with tea-stained hues, designed by Monique Lhuillier. Roberts described her desire to "look like a ghost, like an ancient little haunted doll," and later exchanged the dress for a reinterpretation of a black corset dress from the designer's 2003 collection.

Historical and Cultural Roots of Gothic Weddings

Lana Del Rey wore a dress with an old-fashioned look for her 2024 wedding to Jeremy Dufrene, a tour guide dedicated to alligators. The dress featured lace ruffles that gave her the air of a mysterious southern aristocrat. Earlier, in 2022, Tish Weinstock, a British Vogue writer, wore a custom Jane Bourvis dress made from ancient Norman lace and a veil inspired by 1930s designs with floral patterns for her Halloween wedding at Belvoir Castle.

Gothic Symbolism in Popular Culture

Anya Taylor-Joy took the gothic aesthetic to an extreme with her 2022 wedding to musician Malcolm McRae, featuring a cake with two bloodstained human hearts, designed with anatomical realism. This trend is not new, with roots in cultural icons such as Miss Havisham from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter in the 2012 adaptation by Mike Newell.

Gothic Aesthetic in Film and Design

The gothic bride aesthetic has continued to resurface in popular culture, as seen in Promising Young Woman by Emerald Fennell (2026), where costume designer Jacqueline Durran imagined a theatrical dress for the funeral wedding of Cathy and Edgar Linton. Similarly, in Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro (2025), Mia Goth's character Elizabeth meets her fate moments before reaching the altar, with a pool of blood spreading over the satin of her dress.

Designers Embracing Gothic Wedding Fashion

Dilara Findikoglu, a Turkish-born designer based in London, has launched a first capsule wedding collection that features structured corsets with whalebones and padding, taffeta and silk jackets with deliberately frayed edges, and dresses inspired by underwear in faded powder pink tones. Findikoglu emphasized the lack of rules regarding what a bride should wear, stating that if a person feels beautiful in a dramatic, romantic, or sexy outfit, that is how she should get married.

Gothic Brides and the Search for Authenticity

Rather than fantasizing about an eternal happiness worthy of fairy tales, the gothic brides of 2026 seem to be seeking a marriage that embraces its contradictions, its shadows, and its least idealized aspects. A love that does not need to be perfect to be beautiful, nor wise to be sincere, all wrapped in frayed tulle, faded lace, and a good dose of theatricality.