World Goth Day is here! Yep, it’s really a thing. To mark the occasion, this week sees NOWNESS launch its #FiveDaysOfDarkness series – celebrating everything black. More than just inspiration, the colour lends its name to the title of its newest film, as part of its ongoing ‘Fashion Disciples’ series. 

Written and directed by London based filmmaker Isaac Lock, Black gives us a behind-the-scenes look at a fashion shoot gone wrong. Lock, who also stars in the film as a (slightly) exaggerated version of himself, struggles to understand the client’s brief, confusing the intended simplicity of the project with a world of the fantastical.

“The idea (behind the film) really is making fun of ourselves, finding the light in our own anxieties and neurosis and not taking things too seriously,” he tells us. From 70s-style leather daddies made modern, to sea witches and Mapplethorpe, the short film pokes fun at the difficult balance of client/creative control.

Through the short, Lock wanted to honour the creativity and artistry of individuals who confidently present themselves in their natural, unadulterated states as he believes “what is and isn’t considered ‘natural’ is entirely subjective, and the type of ‘natural beauty’ that’s appreciated is still quite limited.” Think full-on goth make-up, rather than the dewy-faced girls you might expect from a beauty shoot. 

#FiveDaysOfDarkness is NOWNESS’ specialist programme resurrecting all that is goth.