Vampire films are in no short supply: over the years there have been countless iterations of the horror sub-genre, many of which rely heavily on stuffy depictions of a cave-dwelling Dracula type, and simply aren’t worth your time. Watch enough cheesy, B-grade vampire flicks, however and you’ll occasionally encounter a cinematic gem. Case in point: The Lost Boys, Joel Schumacher’s 1987 cult classic about a gang of teen vampires running rampant in the semi-fictional northern Californian town of Santa Carla. Through the subversion of traditional themes, the film managed to reinvigorate the vampire genre: in place of tired folkloric notions of coffins and bats, there’s high energy, humour, sex and bucketloads of style.
Whilst the general styling of the film’s characters is well thought-out and expertly executed (Schumacher originally worked as a costume designer before turning his hand to directing), it’s vampire leader David whose sartorial identity we’re particularly homing in on. Played by a 22-year-old Kiefer Sutherland, David is dangerous, darkly funny and painfully cool - attributes conveyed through his all-black uniform, the effect of which is heightened through its stark juxtaposition against the bright colours of a Californian summer. Costume designer Susan Becker opted for a gothic-inspired New Romantic aesthetic, dressing Sutherland in layers of leather and heavy metals. As he bikes around town with his posse drinking blood, he sports a sweeping long black coat over a leather jacket with leather trousers and - you guessed it - leather gloves. With his peroxide blonde mullet, single silver earring and cigarette tucked nonchalantly behind the ear, he is a poster boy for 80s teen rebellion - an archetypal emulation of the ever-enduring ‘bad boy’ trope.
