We've seen the rise of goth before in the ‘90s, when the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the film Interview with a Vampire enthralled audiences all over the world. This year, vampire stories return with a vengeance. In cinemas, there's the film based on Stephanie Meyer's novel Twilight. On television, the series True Blood is amassing millions of fans. With the rising popularity of gothic culture this year, the influence of these dark vampire tales on fashion was inevitable.

In fact, many designers are sending models clad in dark silhouettes onto the catwalk. Rodarte dressed them in black knitwear that clung to their arms and legs like cobwebs. Gareth Pugh was inspired by Victorian dress when he designed his autumn collection, and for Givenchy winter will bring us lots of dark leather with a fetishist twist.

Of course the Goth trend has always existed, though it tends to periodically retreat to the background, appealing only to a niche group. But now it seems like fangs and werewolves are well accepted by mainstream audiences, as models in fashion editorials in the world's most-read magazines are made up to look like fictional characters in spooky fairy tales.

The effects of this trend are likely to be reinforced by Michael Jackson's recent death. Magazines are filled with odes to Michael's sartorial taste: expect a lot of band jackets and rhinestones to appear on the fashion scene shortly. Meanwhile, radio stations rediscover his musical genius, and his album HIStory proves to be the favourite to remember him by.

A closer look at the little booklet accompanying the CD reveals the dark side of the King of Pop. And it's not just the pictures in which he dresses up as a werewolf for his song Thriller. Other drawings and illustrations allude to his difficult childhood and the nightmares lots of children must live through all over the world.

In a weird twist of fate, a tragic accident could add a whole new dimension to a fashion trend that risked repeating history without adding anything new. Leave it to Michael Jackson, even from beyond his grave, to bring to our attention the injustice and sad stories that may have inspired the Goth trend in the beginning.