Taeden Hall grew up in a little town, on a small and snowy island in northern Ontario.
In her teens, as online shopping was still years away and there weren’t a lot of creative or unique clothing options in the Sears catalogue, and no malls nearby, she began altering and making clothes herself.
She moved to Toronto to attend the Ontario College of Art and Design in the early 2000’s, where she studied illustration and sold vintage clothing on eBay to pay for more pens.
After graduating she began sewing and creating pieces in her dining room and before long the demand for her work grew. Staff were hired, websites registered, and since 2007 Gloomth & the Cult of Melancholy has become the friendly monster dominating almost all of her time.
Taeden’s work as a designer is influenced heavily by Victorian styles and themes such as mourning and decay. Exploring what makes people uncomfortable is a big part of her work, turning unsettling concepts into strange and beautiful apparel. Gloomth’s clothing is intended to inspire others to create their ideal selves, to explore ideas outside of the everyday. Taeden says, “Gloomth exists as a love letter to the Misfits of the Misfits, to everyone who doesn’t fit in and doesn’t want to.”
-by Gillian Holmes
What hood are you in?
I live between Little India and the Upper Beaches areas in Toronto.
What do you do?
I am an artist and the designer/owner of “Gloomth & the Cult of Melancholy”, a clothing label I started in 2007. We specialize in unique styles inspired by Victorian mourning trends and modern street fashion. All of the clothing we create is handmade locally. I also draw a lot of silly things like coloring books, vampires, and tarot decks, and I art direct and act as photographer on many of the label’s photoshoots.
What are you working on right now?
Currently I am planning our upcoming Gloomth Tea Party on June 19th, as well as making new accessories and little detail pieces to accompany our clothing. Lots of fascinators made from vintage doll-faces and re-purposing old hat flowers to make head pieces. Gloomth also just launched our first themed collection of 2016 titled “Ghost Story”, which features designs inspired by ghostly tales and folklore. I’m also learning to make stuffed toys in my spare time!
Where can we find your work?
You can find my work on our website.
