FASHION NETWORK

SYMPHONY OF HORROR
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED CELESTIAL BLOOM EMBRACE THE ANARCHY
BY HALENA LAVEN

BY HALENA LAVEN



SYMPHONY OF HORROR
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED CELESTIAL BLOOM EMBRACE THE ANARCHY
BY HALENA LAVEN
BY HALENA LAVEN
KARLA DE LA CERDA PRESIDENT
VIVIANNA RUFFO BLOG DIRECTOR
AMY LI OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
EMMA MARTINEZ CREATIVE DIRECTOR
HALENA LAVEN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ANDREA TORELLI LATHULERIE MARKETING DIRECTOR
TIFFANY LU PHOTO/VIDEO DIRECTOR
MELANIA HENDERSON CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF STYLING
NOURAN RASHAD EVENTS DIRECTOR
ANNIE TROMPETER PHOTO/VIDEO DIRECCTOR
ELLIE CURSHELLAS FASHION DESIGN DIRECTOR
ALIMCHANDANI HR DIRECTOR
LAILA DONALDSON SET DIRECTOR
ELSA TOLA MAKUP DIRECTOR
Arellano
Photographed by A Bramowicz
By Helena Laven
A violin screeches in the dark. Heels echo down a deserted runway. Lace drips like cobwebs. Leather gleams like bone. Welcome to fashion’s haunted overture—its Symphony of Horror—where beauty doesn’t soothe, it unsettles.This isn’t about jump scares or Halloween kitsch. It’s about the kind of horror that lingers. A shadow in silk. A scream stitched into satin. A fascination with decay, dread, and the exquisite elegance of the grotesque.In today’s world of sterile trends and algorithmic sameness, horror in fashion offers something rare: feeling.Why are we drawn to fashion that disturbs us? Because horror reveals truth—about death, desire, power, and vulnerability. When designers tap into those themes, the result is visceral. It transcends trend. It becomes storytelling. Whether it’s a Victorian ghost gown or a techno-witch in vinyl, horror fashion doesn’t just show up—it haunts. Brands like Alexander McQueen, Gareth Pugh, Comme des Garçons, and Iris van Herpen have all played with this darkness. They conjure a world where clothing becomes character, costume becomes narrative, and the body becomes a stage for a horror opera—equal parts romantic and terrifying.
Photographed
by Evelyn Arellano
In a true Symphony of Horror, every element of design plays its part—just like instruments in an orchestra: Silhouettes swell and distort, echoing hysteria or restraint. Corsets cage the body. Capes billow like specters.
Textures create tension: shredded tulle, blood-red velvet, cracked latex, stiff lace.
Colors evoke unease—bone white, bruise purple, funeral black, feverish red.
Accessories become artifacts: veils, gloves, face masks, crucifix-heavy jewelry, or claw-like nails.
Designers orchestrate this chaos into beauty, using fear as fabric. The result is sublime discomfort.
Designers orchestrate this chaos into beauty, using fear as fabric. The result is sublime discomfort.
What horror fashion does better than any other genre is challenge comfort. It blurs binaries—of beautiful and ugly, alive and dead, woman and monster, couture and corpse.
Take McQueen’s 1999 show, where Shalom Harlow was spray-painted by robotic arms while spinning in white— both muse and machine. Or Thom Browne’s twisted funeral parades, with models in coffin-inspired skirts and decaying florals. These aren’t shows. They’re rituals.
It’s not about costuming horror tropes. It’s about becoming them. The bride undone. The villain revered. The body transformed, not concealed.
In the age of curated perfection, horror fashion whispers something radical:
Let it rot. Let it scream. Let it be ruined and still worth looking at.
Soft horror. Neo-Victorian goth. Post-apocalyptic romanticism. These aesthetics are booming not just because they’re cool—but because they speak to the chaos we’re all surviving.Climate crisis. AI dread. Political collapse. There’s something strangely cathartic about wearing a dress that looks like it survived the end of the world. In horror, we find honesty.
You don’t need a fog machine or a funeral procession to channel the Symphony of Horror in your everyday look. Try this:
Romantic Ruin: Pair delicate fabrics (lace, silk, chiffon) with something rough (leather, metal, distressing). Think ghost meets gladiator.
Modern Gothic: Embrace high collars, long sleeves, and floor-length drama with a sleek, modern cut.
Blood Accents: One item in crimson can suggest something ritualistic—lipstick, gloves, or shoes.
Silhouettes with Threat: Look for exaggerated shoulders, trailing hems, or restrictive pieces that alter posture.
Antique Meets Apocalypse: Mix vintage brooches or corsetry with stark, contemporary shapes.
Let your look hint at danger. Let it say: I’ve seen the end, and I dressed for it.
The Symphony of Horror isn’t about being scary. It’s about being unafraid.It’s fashion as mourning. Fashion as rebellion. Fashion as myth. It embraces the parts of ourselves that are wounded, wild, and unspoken. In a culture that tells us to smooth out, clean up, and fit in, horror dares us to do the opposite: to unravel beautifully.So cue the violins. Raise the curtain. Let your hem drag like a ghost and your sleeves scream like sirens. Because in the world of soft monsters and elegant nightmares, you’re not just dressing to impress—You’re dressing to possess.
By Halena Laven
At some point over the past decade, something shifted. Maybe you noticed it when you found yourself wearing leggings to brunch, a sports bra under your blazer, or when your sneakers began costing more than your dress shoes. What used to be confined to gym lockers and early morning runs is now everywhere: the office, the airport, the dinner date. Athletic wear has slipped quietly—and completely—into everyday American life.
This isn’t just a trend. It’s a cultural shift. It’s comfort disguised as intention. Performance Wear without the performance. It’s America dressing like it’s on the move—even if it’s just to grab coffee.
There’s something almost aspirational about the way athletic wear presents itself. You could be headed to a yoga class. You might go for a run later. Or you’re just someone who values
movement, hustle, and breathability in your wardrobe.
Athletic wear taps into a powerful narrative: mobility equals productivity. Throw on a quarter-zip or a streamlined pair of joggers and suddenly you’re not just dressed—you’re prepared. It’s a subtle status symbol, signaling that you’re living an efficient, high-performance lifestyle—even if your most athletic activity is carrying an oat milk latte back to your desk. If fashion used to be about effort, now it’s about ease. Americans have long had a soft spot for casual style, but in the last decade, comfort has become its own kind of luxury. The pandemic accelerated what had already been brewing: people started asking why “getting dressed” meant sacrificing physical comfort. The answer? It doesn’t have to.
By Nethra Yuvaraji
Athletic wear’s materials— moisture-wicking, four-way stretch, barely-there seams— offered a kind of freedom that denim or dress pants simply couldn’t. The best part? These clothes didn’t just feel good. They looked good, too. Brands like Lululemon, Alo Yoga, and Outdoor Voices turned technical fabrics into status symbols. High-waisted leggings became boardroom-appropriate with the right coat. Sculpted tanks blurred the line between gym and gallery.
Athletic wear, in this sense, didn’t dilute style—it redefined it.
This evolution wasn’t just about clothes. It was about identity. The rise of “wellness culture” made being healthy—or at least looking like you were trying—a lifestyle flex. Activewear allowed people to perform that identity without saying a word. It wasn’t about going to the gym; it was about being the kind of person who could.
Even beyond yoga studios and spin classes, athletic gear became a visual shorthand for discipline, ambition, and self-optimization. In a culture obsessed with improvement, what better uniform than one made for progress?
Then came the high-fashion collabs and the luxury
crossovers. Sneakers on the runway?
Unthinkable once, but now central to the collections of designers like Virgil Abloh, Stella McCartney, and Demna Gvasalia. Suddenly, athletic codes—elastic waistbands, mesh panels, zippered vests—weren’t just accepted in fashion circles; they were coveted.
Athletic wear’s rise wasn’t about rebellion. It was about evolution. Streetwear blurred with gym wear, blurred with loungewear, until there was no longer a clear distinction. Only a layered, lived-in look that could go from errands to meetings to dinner, no outfit change required.
Ultimately, athletic wear didn’t just become popular—it became the default.
And in many ways, it makes sense. America loves utility. Loves confidence. Loves the idea of always being on the go. Athletic wear lets you feel prepared, styled, and unfussy all at once.
It’s a wardrobe built for movement, but more importantly, it’s built for possibility. You may not actually break a sweat in your sneakers and performance fleece—but the look says you could, if you wanted to.
And in today’s world, that’s enough.
By Maya Perez
When petals meet planets and constellations entwine with vines, fashion enters a new dimension—one where the organic and the cosmic collide. In recent seasons, runways from Paris to Seoul have become celestial gardens: dresses shimmer like stardust, floral appliqués bloom in galactic gradients, and silhouettes echo both supernovas and stems.
What makes celestial bloom so captivating is its duality. The botanical has always been a symbol of life and rebirth, while celestial imagery—moons, stars, nebulas—speaks to eternity and the unknown. Together, they create a visual narrative that feels both ancient and futuristic.
Designers are leaning into this aesthetic with rich textures and surreal contrasts:
Tulle layered like nebula clouds, colored in dusty rose and eclipse violet.
Embroidered constellations scattered across silk florals, like stardust on petals.
Structured gowns shaped like unfolding lilies—but cast in metallics that mimic moonlight.
Some standout moments that brought the celestial-botanical fusion to life:
Iris van Herpen, the queen of organic futurism, sculpted gowns that resemble both blooming orchids and spinning galaxies—her craftsmanship echoing both biology and black holes.
Rodarte SS24 painted models as moon maidens, with ethereal makeup and gowns dripping in starry florals, blurring the line between fairy and alien.
Rahul Mishra’s “Cosmic Bloom” collection featured intricate embroidery of galaxies within lotus flowers, each piece telling a story of cosmic interconnection.
Marine Serre took a sportier approach, blending astrology-inspired prints with upcycled florals to symbolize regeneration through time.
“why choose between stardust and soil when you can root yourself in both?”
Across the board, designers are saying: why choose between stardust and soil when you can root yourself in both?
Fashion has always responded to cultural moods. It reflects a collective yearning for transcendence during uncertain times. In a world that feels increasingly fractured, this trend suggests a quiet hope: that beauty, nature, and the cosmos are still in sync.
Whether it’s through a velvet top embroidered with lunar roses or a silk scarf printed with starlit dahlias, this style speaks to those who crave depth, dream in color, and believe fashion should elevate not just the body, but the spirit.
Celestial bloom isn’t just about clothes. It’s a wearable metaphor: for blooming in darkness, for orbiting around beauty, for being wild and eternal at once.
In this era of artificial intelligence and climate concern, space exploration and seed preservation, we’re asking new questions about what it means to be alive, human, and hopeful. And fashion, as always, answers in poetry: with fabric, with fantasy, and with flowers that bloom in the stars.
Not walking the runway anytime soon? Here’s how to channel celestial bloom in your everyday looks:
Mix metallics with florals. Think silver boots with a romantic rose-print dress.
Look for cosmic motifs in soft fabrics. Celestial embroidery on mesh, velvet, or sheer organza.
Layer textures that mimic space and earth. Combine something smooth and synthetic (like lamé) with something earthy and raw (like raw silk or cotton lace).
Add lunar accessories. Crescent moon earrings, constellation rings, or floral hair clips that sparkle like stars.
Embrace the Anarchy, Fourth Shoot of TFN SP25 Season
Spread Design by Dhruv Oak Design Directed by Emma Martinez
Photographed by Laila Donaldson
by evie growber
Goth style didn’t begin as a trend. It began as a feeling—a deep, visceral need to embody the shadows the world often tries to avoid. What started in the underground clubs of the 1980s has slowly, stunningly, made its way into mainstream fashion houses, pop culture icons, and even TikTok scrolls. Goth is no longer just a subculture—it’s influence. But where did it start? And how did a style rooted in melancholy, mystery, and rebellion become a couture touchstone?
Photographed by Laila Donaldson
1. The Origins: Death Meets Punk (Late 1970s – 1980s)
The goth aesthetic began as a darker offshoot of the punk scene in late ‘70s London. While punk was raw and aggressive, early goth leaned into theatricality and gloom. Bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, and The Cure weren’t just shaping sound—they were shaping style. Think:
• Ripped fishnets and combat boots
• Dramatic eyeliner and bird’s nest hair
• Velvet blazers, lace gloves, Victorian chokers
The look was romantic, funereal, and definitely anti-mainstream. It was about expressing pain and beauty at once—an art project as much as a personal identity.
2. 1990s: Goth Goes Cyber, Vamp, and Industrial
The ‘90s saw goth splinter into several delicious subgenres:
Cyber Goths paired rave fashion with dystopian techwear—neon dreadlocks, PVC corsets, goggles as accessories.
Vampire Goths went full Anne Rice: floorlength coats, crushed velvet, and blood-red lipstick.
Industrial Goths turned up the volume with military gear, harnesses, and steel-toe boots.
Meanwhile, mainstream pop culture flirted with darkness. The Craft made chokers and black lipstick iconic. Designers like Jean Paul Gaultier embraced gothic silhouettes. Even Barbie got a goth makeover (hello, Halloween edition).
If you survived Hot Topic in the early 2000s, you know the mall goth era well—Tripp pants, fingerless gloves, and band tees galore. It was accessible, messy, and deeply formative for a generation. But something else was happening in the shadows: high fashion was watching.
Alexander McQueen fused Victorian mourning with savage beauty. Riccardo Tisci brought dark romanticism to Givenchy. Gareth Pugh made goth downright alien.
Suddenly, goth wasn’t just about rebellion—it was about innovation. Runways became cemeteries of style: sleek, scary, and stunning.
Today’s goth landscape is expansive and inclusive. TikTok introduced us to goth subgenres we didn’t know we needed—cottage goth, pastel goth, goblincore. The aesthetic is more fluid, more playful, and less gatekept than ever.
Fashion-wise, goth is everywhere: Balenciaga channels apocalypse chic
Rick Owens delivers draped dystopia Mugler offers goth body armor
Even Doja Cat and Wednesday Addams have become modern muses
Black is still the base, but now it’s layered with irony, softness, and tech. It’s less about adhering to a code and more about creating your own haunted language.
Photographed by Laila Donaldson
Photographed by Laila Donaldson
It’s mourning with glitter.
It’s rage in couture.
It’s softness behind spiked eyeliner.
It’s not about dressing for death—it’s about dressing in defiance of it. Goth has never died. It’s just changed shape— like smoke, like shadow, like the perfect coat that makes you feel invincible on a rainy day. And as long as people still seek beauty in darkness, goth will continue to evolve—stitch by stitch, boot by boot, heartbreak by heartbreak.
By Chloe Swath
There is a moment — often between the first fitting and the final runway walk — when a garment becomes more than fabric. It becomes a feeling. Fashion, by nature, is a language of beauty, aspiration, and identity. But as we peel back the layers of tulle and silk, we find something more primal lurking beneath. Over the past few seasons, a new motif has emerged from the shadows—a rising aesthetic I’ve come to think of as the Symphony of Horror. This isn’t horror in the campy, bloodsplattered sense. It is not about fake wounds or Halloween theatrics.
This is horror in its most elegant, cerebral form: the gothic, the uncanny, the disturbing wrapped in the beautiful. It is fashion that unsettles and seduces at the same time—a curated nightmare stitched in silk.
The roots of this movement are deep. Designers like Alexander McQueen, Rick Owens, Iris van Herpen, and Ann Demeulemeester have long dwelled in fashion’s darker corridors. Their work challenges traditional ideas of femininity, beauty, and power. McQueen, especially, built entire collections around the beauty of decay, the fragility of life, and the romanticism of death. His Fall 2009 collection, The Horn of Plenty, was both a critique of fashion excess and a love letter to its tragic grandeur—a true symphony of horror before the term ever passed my lips.
Today’s resurgence of this theme feels more visceral. More deliberate. As if, collectively, designers and wearers alike are reaching for something real in a world that increasingly feels surreal and un steady. There’s an emotional honesty to horror-inspired fashion. It dares to expose the anxieties we’re all trying to style our way out of: climate dread, digital distortion, societal breakdown. In the symphony, fear becomes fabric.
I like to think of this aesthetic in musical terms—a fashion concerto in four parts. Each “movement” carries its own emotional and visual tone:
I. Overture – The Innocence Before the Haunting
Soft whites, delicate pleats, sheer layers that seem untouched. This is the calm before. Think virginal silhouettes with an eerie stillness. Not quite bridal—more sacrificial. It is the blank canvas where unease begins to stir.
II. Allegro of Dread – Tension in the Silhouette
Suddenly, we feel it: structure sharpens. Angles emerge. Blood-like reds and bruised purples bleed into otherwise neutral palettes. Fabrics begin to fight gravity—hovering, twisting, distorting the human form. It’s as though the clothes are reacting to an invisible threat, armoring the body from within.
III. Elegy in Lace – Mourning as Fashion
Here, we enter the gothic. Black veils, jet beads, trailing hems that whisper across the floor. This movement romanticizes sorrow: the mourning dress reborn as high fashion. Gloves like second skin. Shoes with heels shaped like daggers. Hair slicked like wet ash. Grief, made exquisite.
IV. Finale: The Becoming – From Beauty to Beast
In the final act, the transformation is complete. Gowns unravel. Faces are obscured. Symmetry disappears. Materials stiffen or melt. The model is no longer human but mythic—Medusa in latex, a siren in charred silk, a shadow incarnate. Horror becomes liberation. The monster is no longer hiding; she walks the runway with power.
by Tiffany
Why are we so drawn to this? In part, it’s psychological. Carl Jung once wrote about the “shadow self”—the dark, repressed parts of ourselves we try to hide. Fashion, like all art, gives us permission to confront it. To wear it. To make it beautiful. In this way, the Symphony of Horror isn’t just a trend. It’s a reckoning. A way for fashion to reclaim the narrative of fear—not as something to run from, but as something we carry with dignity. It’s why lace can feel like a noose. Why an oversized coat can look like a cocoon or a coffin. Why a dress made of torn gauze can feel like both bandage and wound.
In the age of algorithmic sameness, horror in fashion reminds us that fashion is still capable of provoking, of disturbing, of saying something that isn’t always palatable. And perhaps that’s what we need more of: not just pretty things, but things that make us feel.
After all, the most haunting music is not the loudest—it’s the quiet, creeping melody that follows you long after the concert ends. And the most unforgettable fashion? It’s the kind that refuses to be forgotten.
Models
Alejandro Lino
Allison Chung
Amanda Sekili
Destiny Plata
Isabella Moughal
Jaeden Hsu
Kalysta Liu
Laila Donaldson
Lina Castaneda
Mariia Surina
Mierra Freeman
Rhea Parekh
Sasha Hirschberg
Tara Mirkov
Stylists
Lena Packer
Melania Henderson
Alejandro Lino
Allison Chung
Kalysta Liu
Laila Donaldson
Mierra Freeman
Rhea Parekh
Sasha Hirschberg
Tara Mirkov
Makeup Artists
Anusha Ratnakar
Elsa Tolla
Karla De La Cerda
Lina Castaneda
Photographers/ Videographers
A Bramowicz
Evelyn Arellano
Kassandra Plata
Graphic Designer
Destiny Plata SPORTS
Models
Amy Li
Ayush Thomas Mammen
Devansh Nandwana
Edith Pumphrey
Elsa Tolla
Emily Chen
Hanaan Santosz
Jaeden Hsu
Jacob Onu
Julia Persak
Julia Swartz
Kalysta Liu
Kennedy Lawson
Kyriaki Karavasis
Lena Packer
Mariia Surina
Melania Henderson
Roger Holben
Sophia Chen
Sophie Hartzheim
Sumayyah Ismail
Thomas Sanders
Vanessa Borisova
Stylists
Ayush Thomas Mammen
Devansh Nandwana
Edith Pumphrey
Emily Chen
Hanaan Santosa
Jacob Onu
Julia Persak Kalysta Liu
Lena Packer
Mariia Surina
Melania Henderson
Mierra Freeman
Roger Holben
Sophie Hartzheim
Thomas Sanders
Makeup Artists/Hair Stylists
Amy Li
Elsa Tolla
Julia Swartz
Vanessa Borisova
Photographers/ Videographers
Francesca Dumitrescu
Kassy Plata
Nethra Yuvaraj
Tiffany Lu
Graphic Designer
Destiny Plata
Models
Ananya Sampathkumar
Ashika Koripelly
Ava Kolodziej
Camden Moraska
Emma Shepherd
Helene Simmons
Jocelyn Leggett
Julia Swartz
Kennedy Lawson
Laila Donaldson
Lena Packer
Luna Piccioni
Maya Strong
Mierra Freeman
Roger Holben
Sasha Hirschberg
Sonia Alimchandani
Tara Mirkov
Amy Li
Stylists
Ananya Sampathkumar
Ashika Koripelly
Ava Kolodziej
Emma Shepherd
Isabella Machaj
Julia Swartz
Luna Piccioni
Maya Strong
Mierra Freeman
Roger Holben
Sasha Hirschberg
Tara Mirkov
Makeup Artists
Anusha Ratnakar
Elsa Tolla
Laila Donaldson
Sonia Alimchandani
Hair Stylist
Amy Li
Kennedy Lawson
Photographers/ Videographers
A Bramowicz
Avni Mohan
Francesca Dumitrescu
Kassandra Plata
Graphic Designer
Maddie Edwards
Models
Abby Pritz
Alejandro Lino
Amy Li
Andrea Garcia
Ayanna Little
Destiny Plata
Ellie Curshellas
Isabella Machaj
Kassandra Plata
Kennedy Lawson
Laila Donaldson
Oli Cluchey
Parker Bade
Sasha Bachleda
Sonia Alimchandani
Tara Mirkov
Stylists
Abby Pritz Alejandro Lino
Ayanna Little
Destiny Plata
Jocelyn Leggett
Luna Piccioni
Sasha Bachleda
Tara Mirkov
Makeup Artists
Anusha Ratnakar
Laila Donaldson
Sonia Alimchandani
Photographers/ Videographers
Amy Li
Ellie Curshellas
Laila Donaldson
Tiffany Lu
Graphic Designer
Photographed by Dhruv Oak
Front & Back Cover
Nethra Yuvaraj
Tiffany Lu