‘Demonia not only reflects the alternative lifestyle, it defines it,’ Demonia’s slogan.

Powerful, vegan, and definitive of modern alternative fashion, Demonia funds the gothic image of today’s youth. Founded by Pleaser in 1999, the shoes have since skyrocketed to one of the best alternative footwear brands worldwide, becoming especially popular with a certain demographic: exotic dancers. What does this mean for the future of fashion? 

For those who don’t know, Demonias are large platform shoes, usually at least 3 inches tall, and would fall under the gothic, punk genre. Their growth in popularity can be linked to the growth of alternative fashion, and its crossover to semi-mainstream. 

The shoes offer durability, lasting years, and incorporating solid materials of patent leather, wildly popular among exotic dancers. Next to Demonias, stand another popular stripping shoe- Mary Janes. They too have risen to mainstream fashion. Stores like Dolls Kill, and even Doc Martens themselves, sell Mary Janes. 

The way strippers are leading the fashion industry also speaks for the sudden blaze of confidence in self expression, noticeable amongst females. The rise of stripping in fashion and sexual confidence can be directly linked to Onlyfans, an online site based out of the UK, dedicated to the sharing of provocative and explicit photographs for money from one’s fans. The digital form of stripping makes the industries’ grit and fearlessness available to a wider group of women. Sites such as these present a feeling of confidence lacking in the past, and the portrayal of such confidence through women’s fashion makes one hopeful for the future females. 

The height of Demonias matches that of classic exotic dancing shoes, conventionally 6 inches, but ranging anywhere between 4 and 8. A blog post on Overpost by StripperShoeStore states Demonias as being one of the best stripping shoes. ‘The most sturdy sort of stripper shoes are most definitely the pole dancer boots.’ They say after listing their favorite brands.

Additionally, platforms, fishnets, and cutout clothing have all received an uptake in popularity, and understandably so, considering they were previously popular among strippers. While some might not realize, and others will deny it, exotic dancers have some of the strongest influence over the fashion industry. The bold feeling of poised courage that they exude appeals to strong women. Their dominance and power are something everyone tries to achieve, and the closest way to do that is through physical representation and expression. 

To conclude, the rise of Demonias represents the grip a stripper’s confidence has over a woman and the way she chooses to dress.