…The Myth

Valhyr (Estonian, founded 2019) “Face of the Norns” Sweatshirt, 2024 Black cotton-polyester knit printed with white ink in the forms of three goddesses Courtesy of private collection

Valhyr designs clothing inspired by figures from Northern European legend. This sweatshirt displays a contemporary interpretation of the Norns, figures often compared to the Greek Fates, a trio of weaving women who shape the lives of mortals. However, many of these comparisons are modern in origin. The original Norse sources are ambiguous as to the number of the Norns, and it is the valkyries, a different group of female spirits, who appear more often in the weaving room. The Norns, instead, are often compared to law-givers, who both write and enforce the fates of men.

Links between the law and the loom did exist. There is evidence that Icelandic women created, or collaborated on, the laws that governed the profitable textile trade that they alone controlled. Mythology scholar Karen Bek-Pedersen writes that to Norse cultures, fate was “an internal truth, a kernel … which can only be expressed in external experience.” As a fashion object, the Valhyr sweatshirt offers an avenue for external expression of some deeply-felt “internal truth,” an image of ancient feminine power stamped on a modern garment.

Evertree Clothing (American) “Don’t Look At Me” Shirt, 2024 Gray cotton-polyester jersey knit printed with black in the form of Medusa Courtesy of private collection

This T-shirt features one of hundreds of designs offered by Evertree Clothing, a New Jersey-based business that sells inexpensive shirts and sweatshirts. This shirt’s image of a snarling Medusa belongs to an ancient tradition. The gorgon’s ability to turn onlookers to stone made her a symbol of protection in the ancient world, depicted on both buildings and armor. Twenty-first century readings, based on Ovid’s version of the myth, sometimes embrace Medusa as an image of empowerment for victims of sexual assault: a woman who gains the power to repel the unwanted advances of men.

In Ovid’s telling, it is the goddess Minerva who both curses Medusa with monstrosity, and realizes the power of that monstrosity when worn on the body. After Medusa’s death, Minerva adds the gorgon’s snake-hair to her breastplate: the monster’s body appropriated by the goddess who punished her for her own assault. This T-shirt speaks to a more modern tension between abuse and empowerment in fashion. Its design embraces a monstrous feminine figure, celebrating her ability to protect herself. And yet the shirt itself, mass-produced and cheaply sold, is an artifact of a fast-fashion system that exploits the labor of disadvantaged women.

Midnight Hour (American, founded 2014) Dress, 2024 Black rayon-spandex knit trimmed with black synthetic mesh Courtesy of private collection

Midnight Hour sells clothing geared towards the goth subculture, both wholesale and through its online storefront. This dress is typical of the “witchy goth” style featured on its website, with its body-hugging silhouette and a hood that nods to historical cloaks. It captures the dominant image of the witch in the twenty-first century: young, attractive, and female.

Contemporary culture often views historical witches as symbols of feminist power, rebellious figures who fought against patriarchal control. In the popular imagination, all accused witches were women; midwives were singled out for persecution; and even benevolent magic was punished as witchcraft. Medieval and early modern sources paint a more complex picture. Many European cultures embraced helpful or healing magical practice, and while women were more vulnerable to witchcraft accusations, men were far from exempt.

Fashion scholar Yuniya Kawamura describes fashion as a “myth” with no “scientific and concrete substance,” true only because it is believed to be true. This “witchy” dress engages in its own form of fashionable mythmaking, allowing its wearer to channel a sense of supernatural power and rebellion based on a collective fantasy of the past.