The goth clothing brands compared here are Killstar, Disturbia, Restyle, Midnight Hour, Jawbreaker, Hell Bunny, Foxblood and NOCTEX. They differ in look, and just as much in who owns them, how far their sizes go and where their clothes are made. Each one is scored below on five tests we think a trustworthy alt brand should pass, using the brand's own pages, a company filing or an investor's own announcement, all read on 29 and 30 October 2026. Our own store, The Cursed Closet, is scored by the same rules, including the two tests we do not pass yet.
Most lists of gothic clothing brands rank names on reputation. The three brand lists we read on the first page of Google for this search name no owners and almost no sizes. This page is the other kind: a register you can check, with a source linked for what each brand says.
Key Takeaways
- The five tests are transparent ownership and founder, inclusive sizing, sourcing you can read, original designs and production in the brand's home country.
- Ownership splits the field. Killstar's 2024 accounts, the latest filed, name Bertram Funds as controlling its group, Bertram Capital's own site listed that investment as "Exited" when we read it on 30 October 2026, and who controls the group today is not public. Disturbia took investment from Refined Capital Partners in 2024, while Restyle, Jawbreaker, Hell Bunny and Foxblood are owned by individuals or a family, by their own words or their national register.
- The largest sizes on the brands' own charts: Hell Bunny 6XL, Restyle and Midnight Hour 5XL, Killstar and Jawbreaker 4XL, Foxblood 4X, NOCTEX 3X, Disturbia UK 24.
- Three say they make some of their clothes in their home country: Disturbia, Midnight Hour and Restyle.
- The Cursed Closet passes on ownership, partly passes on sizing (a few corsets, skirts and tops to 6XL, while most dresses stop at L) and fails on original designs and home production: we sell pieces curated from suppliers, with our own label in development.
What makes a goth clothing brand authentic?
By our measure, an authentic alt brand tells you who owns it, makes clothes for real bodies, says where its clothes are made, designs its own pieces and makes some of them close to home. Those are the five tests on this page, and this is what counts as a pass on each:
- Ownership and founder: The brand names who owns or runs it, or a public filing does. Investment from a fund is shown here, not judged.
- Inclusive sizing: The largest size on the brand's own chart, with the measurement the chart prints. A letter alone tells you little, because one brand's 5XL can be another's 4XL.
- Sourcing: The brand says where or how its clothes are made: named countries, factories it vets or a supply chain it describes.
- Original designs: The brand says its own team or artists design the pieces.
- Home-country production: The brand says some of its clothes are made in the country it is based in.
Style is not a test. Every brand here sits somewhere in gothic fashion, from Hell Bunny's vintage prints to Midnight Hour's "forbidden forest aesthetics", and the right one for you depends on the look as much as the score.
Goth clothing brands compared: who owns them and how far their sizes go
Of the nine brands below, five describe their ownership today, in their own words or on a national register; two have taken investment from a fund; and two tell their founding story without naming today's owner. Each ownership cell is a short form of the register in our guide to goth brands not owned by private equity, where every filing is linked. Each size is the largest women's size on the brand's own chart.
| Brand | Who owns or runs it | Largest size on its own chart |
|---|---|---|
| The Cursed Closet | Independent. Run by our own company, PXRVENTURES OÜ, founded 2023 in Tallinn (About page) | 6XL in a few corsets, skirts and tops; most dresses stop at L (our row below) |
| Killstar | Bertram Funds controlled the group as of its 2024 accounts, the latest filed. Bertram Capital's own site listed the investment as "Exited" when read on 30 October 2026. Who controls the group today is not public | 4XL, a 122.5 to 126.5 cm chest (size charts) |
| Disturbia | Outside investment from Refined Capital Partners, announced March 2024; the investor said the founders would remain significant shareholders | UK 24, a 129 to 136 cm chest (size guide) |
| Restyle | Restyle sp. z o.o., Poland; one individual holds all of its shares (Polish court register) | 5XL, a UK 22 (size guide) |
| Midnight Hour | "Founded by wife and husband team" (About page); today's owner not stated | 5XL, a 54 to 58 inch chest (size chart) |
| Jawbreaker | One Direction Clothing Ltd; one individual holds 75% or more of its shares (Companies House) | 4XL, a 114 cm bust; coats and jackets to 6XL (sizes and fittings) |
| Hell Bunny | "A family owned business", London, 2003 (About page) | 6XL, a 141.5 cm bust (size guide) |
| Foxblood | "Female owned and operated out of Los Angeles", created 2017 (About page) | 4X, a 52 to 55 inch bust (size chart) |
| NOCTEX | "Created in 2011 as an independent initiative" (About page); today's owner not stated | 3X, a 47 to 49 inch bust (size chart) |
The letters do not compare across brands. Restyle's 5XL has a 120 cm bust, and Midnight Hour's 5XL a 54 to 58 inch chest, which is 137 to 147 cm. Our plus-size goth clothing brands guide sets the largest sizes of five of these brands side by side in centimetres and inches, with five more that are there on sizing alone.
Where each brand makes its clothes, and who designs them
Three of the nine say they make some of their clothes in their home country, and five credit their own designers or artists. We do neither yet.
| Brand | Sourcing, in its own words | Original designs | Made at home |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Cursed Closet | Curated from suppliers | Not yet; our own label is in development | No |
| Killstar | "54 vetted factories and sourcing partners", with production spread "beyond China" to Vietnam, India and Turkey (sustainability page) | Not stated | Not stated |
| Disturbia | "A fully traceable supply chain, with manufacturers in UK, China, Turkey and Morocco" (sustainability page) | "Our in-house artists hand-draw all our prints" (Our Product) | Partly: the UK is one of the four |
| Restyle | "We decide where each piece is made individually", in "small-batch production" (About page) | "Original illustrations" by its creative team | Partly: "continuing to develop our production in Poland" |
| Midnight Hour | "Local LA factories" and "partner factories in Asia", with third-party social compliance audits (About page) | "In house artists" who "create original artwork" | Partly: "a significant portion" made "in local USA-based factories" (sustainability page) |
| Jawbreaker | "Created within our known supply chain", with an ethical sourcing policy in its terms | "All clothing is designed in-house" (Who We Are) | Not stated |
| Hell Bunny | Not stated | "Our design team is renowned for their cute & quirky prints" (About page) | Not stated |
| Foxblood | Not stated; it calls its line "vegan and cruelty-free" (About page) | Not stated | Not stated |
| NOCTEX | A multi-brand platform since 2020; since 2024 working "direct with factories in China that we visit yearly" (About page) | Describes "limited edition designs" from 2011 to 2024 | Until 2024, "Canadian and American manufacturing" |
"Not stated" means the brand's About, sustainability and size pages, read on 29 and 30 October 2026, do not say. It is not a finding that the brand does or does not do it. A brand's own words are not an audit either, and nothing here is a verdict on any factory. What the table shows is which brands tell you, and what they say.
How The Cursed Closet scores on the same five tests
We pass one test, partly pass another, tell you plainly on a third and fail two today. Here is our row, written to the same rules as everyone else's.
- Ownership and founder, a pass: Independent and bootstrapped, founded in 2023 in Tallinn and run by our own company, PXRVENTURES OÜ, which our About page names with its registry code. Alisa Karin, our creative director, personally curates every collection.
- Inclusive sizing, a partial pass: Our Black Lace Off Shoulder Corset and Draculina's Black Alt Lace Crop Top both run S to 6XL, and three of our skirts reach 6XL too. Most dresses do not: of our 129 dress listings sized in letters, 91 stop at L, and the largest any reaches is 5XL.
- Sourcing, told plainly: Our pieces are curated from suppliers, not made to our own patterns.
- Original designs, not yet: We do not design today's catalogue. Our own label is in development, and until it ships we will not call anything ours.
- Home-country production, no: We do not make our own clothes, in Estonia or anywhere else, yet.
So why shop with us? For occult, witchy and gothic-romance pieces chosen by one person with a point of view, and for a store that tells you which tests it passes. We will be small and credible before we try to be large.
See what we stock in your size: start with our plus-size collection, or browse by look: whimsigoth, gothic romance and corsets.
The brands, one by one
Each entry gives the look in the brand's own words and what stands out on the tests. Ownership chains sit in the ethical goth brands guide, and size detail in the plus-size guide.
Killstar
Killstar describes its range as "over-sized prints, studded leather and digital designs" on its About page, and its chart runs to 4XL. Its sustainability page names its factory count and the countries it makes in. Ownership is the open question: the group's 2024 accounts, the latest filed, name Bertram Funds as controlling it, Bertram Capital calls itself "a private equity firm", and its own site listed the investment as "Exited" when we read it on 30 October 2026. Who controls the group today is not public. If Killstar is the wardrobe you are replacing, our independent alternatives to Killstar guide compares the field.
Disturbia
"Blending fantasy and romance within every design" is how Disturbia's About page puts it. Founded in 2003, it has headquarters in London and Newcastle. It passes on original designs, partly passes on home production, and its chart reaches a UK 24. Refined Capital Partners invested in 2024.
Restyle
Restyle is a Polish label from Siedlce whose collections draw on "Gothic architecture, nature, folklore and the world of fairy tales" (About page). It passes on original designs, partly on home production, and sizes run to 5XL. Its national register lists one individual as owner, though its own site does not say who owns it.
Midnight Hour
Midnight Hour describes a "mythic melancholic style" of "romantic necromancy and forbidden forest aesthetics", designed in Los Angeles (About page). It names both its local LA factories and its partner factories in Asia, describes its own sample atelier, and its chart reaches 5XL. Its founding story is public; today's owner is not stated.
Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker started in Camden, north London, and makes "alternative gothic inspired clothing and accessories" (Who We Are). It says all its clothing is designed in-house, and it sizes to 4XL in clothing and 6XL in coats. It does not say where its clothes are made.
Hell Bunny
Hell Bunny is a London label "combining vintage styles with new fashion trends and prints" (About page), with the longest size run here, XXS to 6XL. It credits its own design team. Its About page does not say where its clothes are made.
Foxblood
Foxblood calls itself a "modern noir online boutique run in Los Angeles", selling "a mostly minimalist, ready to wear line" (About page). It is female owned and operated, with a chart to 4X. Its About page does not say who designs the line or where it is made.
NOCTEX
NOCTEX calls "multi-wearable and shape shifting layers" the backbone of its design. It began in 2011 as an independent label working largely in deadstock textiles, with Canadian and American manufacturing until 2024 (About page). It became a multi-brand platform in 2020 and has worked with factories in China since 2024. Its chart runs to 3X.
Goth brand guides by style and garment
This page is the register. These guides go deeper on one look or one garment, each with its own shortlist:
- Best whimsigoth brands, for soft, lived-in occult.
- Witchy clothing brands, for the witch's wardrobe.
- Goth jewellery brands compared.
- Alt lingerie and goth underwear brands, with each brand's size range.
- Independent alternatives to Killstar.
- Ethical goth brands not owned by private equity, with every ownership filing.
- Plus-size goth clothing brands, with ten brands' largest sizes in centimetres and inches, then plus-size corsets and plus-size goth tops for those two garments.
How to score a brand that is not on this list
Five checks, one for each test:
- Ownership: find the legal name in the terms of sale, then look it up on the national register. The ethical brands guide walks through it.
- Sizing: open the size chart rather than the size filter, and note the largest size and the bust it prints.
- Sourcing: look for a sustainability or "how we make it" page that names countries or factories.
- Designs: look for "designed in-house" or named artists.
- Production: look for a named country, and check whether it is where the brand is based.
A brand that answers all five on its own site has done the work for you.
Frequently asked questions
What are the top gothic clothing brands?
The gothic clothing brands in this register are Killstar, Disturbia, Restyle, Midnight Hour, Jawbreaker, Hell Bunny, Foxblood and NOCTEX, with The Cursed Closet scored alongside them. Which is top depends on your test: Hell Bunny has the longest size run (XXS to 6XL), Disturbia, Midnight Hour and Restyle say they make some clothes at home, and Restyle, Jawbreaker, Hell Bunny and Foxblood are owned by individuals or a family.
What are some indie goth brands?
Four are in private hands by their own words or their national register: Restyle, Jawbreaker, Hell Bunny and Foxblood. NOCTEX says it was "created in 2011 as an independent initiative", and Midnight Hour was founded by a wife and husband team, though neither names today's owner. The Cursed Closet is independent and run by its own company.
Where can I buy alt clothes?
Straight from the labels in the register above, most of which sell through their own sites, from alternative stores that carry several brands, or from small makers on Etsy for made-to-measure pieces. Before you order, check the brand's own size chart for the measurement, not just the letter.
Where do goth people buy their clothes?
From independent labels, from alternative stores that carry several brands and from the shop lists the community keeps itself. To choose by what a brand will tell you, the tables above show who owns each one and where its clothes are made, and our guide to ethical goth brands not owned by private equity traces each ownership chain to its filing.
