Dead & Thriving: Inside Sydney's Goth Scene & DeadZine

Dead & Thriving: Inside Sydney's Goth Scene & DeadZine

If you've ever wandered down a Sydney Street on a Saturday night and spotted a sea of black lace, cut up t-shirts, platform boots, and perfectly smudged eyeliner... welcome to the beating black heart of Australia's goth community.

Here at jayne doe is dead, and I've been dressing the undead since day one. I'm pulling back the velvet curtain on our little scene that we call home... and introducing you to my love letter to it: DeadZine.

Sydney's Goth Scene: Very Much Alive

Contrary to what the norms might think, goth culture in Sydney is thriving. From the sticky floors of underground venues in Newtown, Chippendale, Marrickville & Glebe to the Burdekin on Oxford St, the goth community in Sydney has carved out a fiercely authentic space that refuses to be gentrified, in fact its growing every month!

The scene here is a little different from the UK or US, it's sweaty... but just like our overseas friends it's DIY and defiant. It's showing up to a 35°C summer in full black and not giving a single fuck. Alternative fashion in Australia has always had to fight a little harder for its space, and that struggle has made it sharper, weirder, and more creative for it.

Newtown in the 90's was the epicentre. My town has long been a refuge for the strange and the beautiful, queer, punk, goth, and everything in between. It's where you find the vintage stores, the record shops, the tattoo shops, and yes, my little private studio (make sure you book). And although it's not like it used to be by day, at night Sydney's goth club scene is pumping! here & in other inner west & city venues. And what makes it so special are the people of all ages, genders, soft goths, elder goths and baby bats.

 

Enter: DeadZine

Zines have always been the lifeblood of subculture. Before the fucking algorithm, before influencers, and sponsored posts... there was the zine. Photocopied, stapled, handed out at gigs and markets and the back of record stores. Handcrafted and cool AF.
DeadZine is my contribution to that tradition. Every page is made by me, by hand, and about a different person in our beloved community; part fashion, part art & part music, part love letter to everyone who makes our community so safe and welcoming.

 

Each issue will feature:

  • Photos from Sydney's goth / alternative scene
  • Interviews with local artists, musicians, and makers
  • Poetry, stories & personal histories
  • Goth and alternative fashion done the Australian way
  • and even a new way (well an old skool way) to date
It's not polished. It's not supposed to be. It's real. But it's printed on nice paper so it can be a cute collectable for your book shelf and I like the way it feels in my hands.

Dress the Part

Whether you're a Newtown local or you're a goth/emo/alt person from the other side of the country (or the world), I've got you covered. My tees are made for people who don't give a fuck what society thinks... who understand that what you wear is a statement, a shield, and sometimes a middle finger! I want you to cut it up, shove safety pins in it, whatever just make it your own!!

My graphic tees say what you're thinking and you can even wear them as dresses for dancing in the dark, every piece in the jayne doe is dead collection is designed by me,  the alternative fashion community in Australia and beyond.

I often hear from customers that they met another person in the street wearing my brand and started up a convo, because they knew they would be a cool person. This is so  amazing to me and I love you all so much.

Find Your People

The goth/alt scene is more than an aesthetic... it's a community. If you're new to it, welcome. If you've been here forever, you already know. Either way, I'm glad you're here. We are cool, we are kind and we don't subscribe to normie values.

Follow me, grab a DeadZine, wear your blackest black, and come say hi at the next goth club night.

 jayne doe, jayne doe is dead

www.deadzine.art

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