These Goth Pinup Girls Channel the Dark Beauty of a Disney Villainess

“There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand,” Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote in Frankenstein, exactly 200 years ago. That haunting mystery still beats in the souls of a few special young women today, drawn to a stylish if slightly unhinged witchy-poo trip to the dark side, a penchant for the spooky beauty tropes that has made them Goth pinups.

These Goth Pinup Girls Channel the Dark Beauty of a Disney Villainess

Ellie Thatcher, a multimedia performance artist—“I make videos, I make paintings, I make music,”—says her style is inspired by “demonic-looking creatures, dream-like surrealism, ‘80s Japanese fashion, and horror movies.” She is currently seeking out trashy lacy dresses and chunky shoes, and she is also favoring “shoulder pads, long and exaggerated silhouettes, and vibrant colors.” “I wear very intense makeup—kind of unreal, like a fairy—sometimes two dots as eyebrows.” Thatcher is obsessed with the stunning 1920s screen star Anna May Wong, and, at the other end of the spectrum, she loves the clay animations made by Bruce Bickford in the 1980s: “The world he created is disturbing, but also beautiful.”

These Goth Pinup Girls Channel the Dark Beauty of a Disney Villainess

The delightfully named Muzzy Stardust is also a musician, maybe because of her early exposure to David Bowie: “David Bowie is forever my hero and his music changed my life.” She explains that what she thinks is important is “uniqueness, being true to yourself, expressing without limitations, being strong enough to keep creative control over your artistic work.” Among her other “forever muses” are Kate Bush, and the ’60s-era psychedelic artist Marijke Koger-Dunham. “I really love my art to be surreal, dreamy-like, super colorful. I’m fascinated by everything the Fool Design Collective created with their magic touch. When it comes to today’s artists, Tim Walker is the one I’m in love with.” She is also a huge admirer of The Holy Mountain by Alejandro Jodorowsky. “The whole aesthetic and the soundtrack of the movie is just insane!” She may love insane aesthetics, but when it comes to her beauty routine, Stardust is cold sober: “I start with each day drinking four glasses of water, and then I meditate for 20 minutes.”

These Goth Pinup Girls Channel the Dark Beauty of a Disney Villainess

Frances O’Sullivan, a London-based model whose ivory complexion, blood-red lips, and dark tresses recall a chic Disney villainess, says her biggest beauty secret is “never thinking that something is too much. If you love it, wear your Tudor corset to go food shopping!” She quotes the drag performer Violet Chachki as insisting you can turn out a look from any era that had a certain edge of glamour. She cites Hollywood icons—Grace Kelly, Dorothy Dandridge, and Audrey Hepburn—as influences, but lightens her list with newer names: Dita Von Teese, Dilara Findikoglu, Nadia Lee Cohen, Lana Del Rey, and especially Lady Gaga, who, she says approvingly, “is never afraid to go too over the top.” Though she is obsessed with films set around the 18th century like The Slipper and the Rose, she also confesses that—oh, these post-modern lives!—“My favorite film of all time is Grease. I find that no matter what kind of outfit I’m wearing, it is almost always inspired by Sandy in some way.”

Read More Beauty Stories:

• Jennifer Lawrence Has a Bombshell Bare-Leg Moment in Paris—Read More

• Laser Hair Removal: Is It Really Worth It?—Read More

• Kim Kardashian West Reveals a Shocking New Blue Eye Color on Instagram—Read More

• The 10 Beauty Products Every Model Uses for Flawless Skin: P50, Embryolisse, and More—Read More

• The Best Weight-Loss Diet Comes Down to When—Not Just What—You Eat—Read More

https://assets.vogue.com/photos/5b86d3affe8f4239bf111840/master/w_660,h_165,c_limit/street-style-100-banner-NEW.jpg