Goth, in all its crushed velvet-and-cobwebs glory, didn’t start with a handful of genius British bands in the late 1970s and ‘80s. But Lol Tolhurst helped start one of those bands, the shapeshifting U.K. legends The Cure, a story he told in his fantastic 2016 memoir Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys. Just in time for the year’s spookiest season, Tolhurst has returned with an album, Los Angeles, made in collaboration with Jacknife Lee and Budgie of Siouxsie and the Banshees.

He also just published Goth: A History, a brief précis on the past and future of the aesthetic, from early literary efforts like Horace Walpole’s 1764 The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story to 21st-century torchbearers like Minsk “doomer” band Molchat Doma. Goth kitsch might trick us, he argues, into underestimating the intellectual and emotional heft of the movement. As treats, he hands out gossip and anecdotes about his encounters with legends like Siouxise, Nico, the ineffable Liz Fraser; brilliant early tour and studio stories of the Cure’s darkest moments; and some thoughts on the undead appeal of Goth itself—all of which he unearthed once again while chatting with Surface.

Why Goth, right now?

As we’re living in a time of crisis, it feels important to write about a way of life that came out of crisis via punk. Also, I’m in my third act. I can’t wait—I need to write and record. Now!

Your descriptions of the early Cure days, all tours in bombed-out ballrooms and late nights recording in dark, damp studios, were striking. How do you think the architecture and the feeling of those spaces affected the work?

A mixture of things come to mind—the obvious “Gothic cathedrals” of London buildings like Westminster Abbey and Strawberry Hill. It’s also in the Brutalism of places like the Barbican. I was recently in London to promote Goth; I hadn’t been there in several years due to the pandemic. I was amazed at the power the buildings still exert in the gray drizzle of London Town. They speak to both darkness and strength, which is why they always fascinated me.

How do you think Goth transmits itself today? Social media is a hellscape, but it’s also a way to build communities—do you think Goth ideas, any ideas really, are better suited for these direct encounters?

Generally, I believe it works like it always has: people of a like mind gathering together, whether on the internet or in real life. However, I think [Goth] works like most things: better in person. It’s an emotional philosophy, which means people respond better in person, at a gig or club or somewhere else people gather.

In Goth, you write: “Before punk, post-punk, and Goth, there were only a handful of outliers that included a gender fluidity or androgynous aspect to their shows.” What was it like to see the possibility of breaking out of traditional gender norms? Did you experience it that way, and was it dangerous, exciting, sexy?

Back in the day, I recall Goth clubs and shows were a safe place for expressing yourself in whatever way was good for you. You could be guaranteed to find similar people who understood you. Anything that’s free is always a little dangerous and exciting, of course. Especially if you came from a strict and closed kind of background.

Is your house “Goth”? What does that mean to you in 2023?

I try to be open to all things Goth wherever they come from! I see them in most areas of human experience, which is amazing. I’d say my house is Goth lite! There are a couple of gargoyles and strange chairs in the garden. But no bats or more obvious generic trademarks.

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Since its founding in 2011, the SCAD Museum of Art has established itself as an indispensable resource not only for the Savannah College of Art of Design ecosystem of students and faculty but for the global art community. Its fall shows offer ample examples why—from installations deploying video game vernaculars to document the danger of being in a trans body to a revelatory exhibition of monumental paintings that take on the western canon from a contemporary Chinese perspective.

MoMA Design Store’s Subu slippers have quickly become a classic, whether coated in Black Teflon or Dusen Dusen’s eye-popping stripes. For the holiday season, Yinka Ilori is offering an exclusive trio of new takes that draw on the London designer’s British and Nigerian heritage.

“My wish is that whoever wears these slippers won’t only enjoy the comfort and style,” he says, “but will also consider the significance behind the patterns and colors I carefully selected.” With its pink and orange hearts, Mo Dupe is named for the phrase I’m thankful, Ilori says, to “encourage us to cherish what’s precious.” It joins the summery Sun & Trees and Obi patterns. The latter, he says, “pays homage to the fruit from the West African obi kola nut tree, a powerful symbol within my culture and a sacred offering.”

A vibrant tableware range named for the Nigerian phrase sweet sun joins the new Subu styles. Oorun Didun includes ceramic serving bowls and platters, a textured glass vase, and a duo of glass cups. “The collection places my British-Nigerian traditions at the forefront, and so much of those traditions are connected to gathering together in celebration,” he says. “I hope that some of the joy I’ve felt through celebrating can be passed on.”

Three years after signing the lease on a 4,500-square-foot former rubber factory in north Brooklyn, Noma co-founder Mads Refslund has finally opened Ilis. Named with a portmanteau of the Danish words for fire and ice, Ilis is a partnership between Refslund and Alinea/Atera alum Will Douillet that seeks to erase the lines between front and back of house. Upon arrival, guests tour the kitchen and discover the dozen or so ingredients that form their à la carte dinner of at least five courses, supplemented from a pantry of Refslund’s misos, syrups, vinegars, and carts of other offerings that traverse the vast space like high-concept dim sum.

Beneath 17-foot-ceilings and a frosted skylight, designers Grant Blakeslee and Alexander Diaz Andersson installed a “cloud” to crown the food prep zone, while artworks by Georg Baselitz, Zachary Armstrong, and Ai Weiwei come courtesy from the nearby Faurschou gallery. Guests dine on Knox Deco drafting tables set with glassware by Brooklyn’s own William Couig. All of the servers are cooks, and vice versa, and all are decked out in Camilla Staerk apparel; along with lighting and rugs, Staerk also designed the staff uniforms. Custom Demant grills take care of the wild game, a menu focus coming into view in recent offers of duck skewers with salted cherry and black garlic.

Our weekly scoop on industry players moving onwards and upwards.

Larry Gagosian recalls being more impressed with Lauren Halsey’s Metropolitan Museum rooftop commission, in which she created an Egyptian-style temple with nods to her South Central Los Angeles upbringing, than anything else he’s seen at the space. A mere few days after her installation wrapped its six-month run, Gagosian announced Halsey will be joining its roster. Her first show will open next year at the gallery’s Paris location with an exhibition to follow at London’s Serpentine Galleries in October. Activism and her upbringing are closely linked with Halsey’s practice—she created a food bank in her neighborhood during the pandemic and is requesting some of her art sells to collectors of color.

Since founding his fashion label S.S. Daley in 2020, Steven Stokey-Daley has had a whirlwind of success: he’s already dressed celebrities like Harry Styles and won the coveted LVMH Prize. Now the British designer has been named the guest designer at January’s Pitti Immagine Uomo 105, the organization confirmed. “Steven Stokey-Daley transforms the British upper class into a queer fashion fantasy,” says Francesca Tacconi, special events coordinator at Pitti Immagine. He’ll be joined by fellow guest designer Luca Magliano.

When Grant Wilkinson and Teresa Rivera graduated from art school, they felt overwhelmed by the notion of creating anything—so they opted instead to focus on furniture. The husband-and-wife duo soon found themselves overflowing with ideas that Wilkinson & Rivera, their two-year-old East London studio, has been dedicated to realizing. Chief among them is designing handmade furniture that subverts wood’s often rigid look and feel with touches of whimsy and fluidity through tried-and-tested traditional techniques, resulting in one-of-a-kind statement pieces rich in personality.

Last week, a group of philanthropists representing art, architecture, and fashion gathered at the Rainbow Room for the World Monuments Fund’s 34th annual Hadrian Gala. The organization devoted to safeguarding the world’s irreplaceable sites honored Maryvonne Pinault with the Hadrian Award for her family’s efforts in restoring French monuments like the Chancellerie d’Orléans and the Saint Sulpice; the Krehbiel Family for their dedication to the restoration of Ireland’s Ballyfin Demesne; and Tata Sons for its support of heritage projects in India. Guests arrived at Rockefeller Center donning vintage-inspired black tie attire and helped raise $1.8 million for the Fund’s ongoing preservation efforts.

When was it? Oct. 25

Where was it? The Rainbow Room, New York

Who was there? Salma Hayek Pinault, Christian Louboutin, Vittorio Calabrese, Brant Cryder, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Lauren Santo Domingo, Annabelle Selldorf, Peter Marino, Pritika Swarup, Kulapat Yantrasast, Federico Turconi, and more.

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Buster + Punch launched in 2013, creating desirable home fittings that elevated everyday hardware into must-have design pieces. Founder Massimo Buster Minale, an architect and custom motorcycle maker, identified a need for premium finishes and fittings for his own projects, eventually leading to the brand’s creation. A decade later, Buster + Punch’s masterful collections span lighting, furniture, accessories, hardware, and kitchen and bathroom designs.

Surface Says: For Buster + Punch, finishes aren’t an afterthought, they’re everything—and it shows. Just try finding a wider assortment of premium brass light switches, handles, faucets, and fixtures.

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