One of the hospital theme party held in Fee Café.

Alice works at a gothic-themed hangout tucked into a quiet street in Shanghai. We were keen to share her impressions of the sub-culture and understand how the cafe helps to build a community.

The Bergstrom Group: What products and services do you offer besides coffee and drinks?

Alice: We also sell Gothic style clothes, do Tarot cards readings, organize themed events, and host a weekly movie night.

TBG: Could you tell us more about the Gothic style clothes? Who are the designers or brands?

Alice: There are more and more original Goth or Gothic Lolita brands, such as 表面咒语(Surfacespell), 第69部门(The 69^th Department), Kred Lanrete, and le Flacon. Some of the brands have 7-9 years of history, they are sold online, some even internationally. The designers and most of the customers are Chinese youth. These indie brands belong to an underground culture, we just provide a platform for them.

TBG: Describe your events.
Alice: We have organized regular events focused on a theme. Sometimes, the focus is general Goth, cult or Tim Burton movies, Tarot cards, Otaku, or Halloween. Event notices are posted on Douban and after the event, we report back to our audience with notes and pictures from the party.

Alice: The founder of the café and his friends help select the music. We usually choose songs from Dark Wave and some local indie brands like Dying Art. We hold Gothic music appreciation activities and let Goth culture fans play music they have in their own collections. We also help promote dark music bands from Shanghai and abroad to perform at Yuyintang and Mao Livehouse.

Alice: I would say that in the last two years, the Yangtze River Delta Area has gotten more active in growing a fan base that appreciates dark music. In that area, you can find more than 100 participants at each event. Some people who go know and love Goth, some people are interested or even just curious. Some customers used to be “Cosers” (AKA Costume Players) and, over time, they get more specific to become Cosers and Goth lovers or Cosers and Lolita lovers. We are glad to help in spreading and sharing people’s knowledge of subcultures.

Alice: Non-mainstream exists in other countries but in China, it’s in the developing phases. It’s never too late to start if one sets his mind to something! At our cafe, we’d like to grow with young Goth fans and become an important platform for them.