From across the field, she's a shadow with a hood. Then the lasers sweep the crowd, she lifts her arms, and a phoenix wakes up across her back in gold, violet and green.
That's the trick a black cloak plays. It keeps the art for the moment you choose to show it.
Black frames linework the way the night sky frames stars, and a lot of the art we make as Magus and Lylyth Fawn, two Los Angeles visionary artists, lives on it. So this guide starts seven centuries back with judges and dukes, then gets to the fun part: the characters a black cloak lets you play, what to wear under one, and the six we'd hand you first.
What does a black cloak symbolize?
Authority, mystery and quiet elegance. In 14th-century Europe, magistrates and officials adopted black robes to show the seriousness of their office, and dukes and kings soon followed. Judges still wear it. Today a black cloak reads as the wizard's, the scholar's and the night owl's, which is why Magus Fawn puts so much art on black.
Black's rise as a power color began in the 1300s. According to Wikipedia's history of the color black, high-quality black dyes reached the market, laws in parts of Europe reserved costly colors for the nobility, and magistrates and government officials began wearing black robes as a sign of the weight of their positions. In 1419 and 1420, Philip the Good, the powerful Duke of Burgundy, made black his color, and the fashion traveled to the Spanish Habsburg court.
Scholars wrapped up too. The gowns graduates wear today grew out of the academic and clerical dress of medieval universities, where early students were restricted to black or dark clothes and wore the cappa clausa, a garment resembling a long black cape, and Wikipedia's academic dress entry notes the overgarment had a practical job: keeping a scholar warm through long hours of sitting still and studying. A cloak for the long, still hours. We relate.
Then the 20th century made black glamorous. In 1926 Coco Chanel published a picture of a short, simple black dress in American Vogue, and the magazine nicknamed it "Chanel's Ford": like the Model T, simple and within reach of women of every social class. Black has been the color of effortless elegance ever since, which is the energy a black cloak brings to a dance floor at 2 a.m.
Which black hooded cloaks does Magus Fawn make?
Magus Fawn makes hooded, faux-fur-lined zip cloaks in dozens of designs printed on black, from silver sacred geometry to gold filigree. Our first three picks show the range: a phoenix in gold, a cathedral cross in silver and graphite, and an all-seeing eye in monochrome. Each is $250, made to order, unisex XS to 5XL.
Our hero is the Golden Phoenix Women's Black Cloak ($250). A golden bird's head crowns the back over a green orb that glows like a coal, scrollwork curls outward on every side, and plumage in violet, blue and teal sweeps down the arms. Hands in pockets, it's a dark coat with a gilded secret; raise your arms for the drop, and a firebird stretches across your shoulders. The phoenix is the bird that rises again, which makes this the cloak for the night you start fresh. Every Magus Fawn cloak shares one build: a micro-mink poly outer, a faux-fur lining in black or white, heavy drawstrings, a double front zipper and four pockets (two deep side pockets and two interior stash pockets, one of them zippered), unisex XS to 5XL, made to order.
For the techno floor, the Black Cosmic Cross Men's Festival Cloak ($250) looks like a knight's breastplate after a polish. Pale silver and slate-grey scrolls cover every inch of black and gather into a great cross that climbs the spine to the crown of the hood. From across the floor it reads as a long black coat; at arm's length it turns into cathedral ironwork. Pull the hood forward when the kick drum takes over and let the silver do the talking.
The Black Mystic Eye Women's Festival Cloak ($250) is sacred geometry in black and silver. Three Flower of Life medallions descend the back like moons in a column, each ringed with crescents and knotwork, and an all-seeing eye sits up by the hood keeping watch over them. More of that circle lattice covers the front panels and rounds out the shoulders. On black micro-mink it looks etched in moonlight, a watchful companion for the long walk between stages.
What costumes can you make with a black cloak?
Almost any character who walks at night: a wizard, a witch, a scholar of forbidden books, a monk of the dance floor or a creature of the forest. Magus Fawn's black cloaks carry the costume in the art itself, so a spellbook, a mandala or a web of stars does the storytelling and the hood does the rest.
The wizard. The Enochian Vision Gold Men's Festival Cloak ($250) is a magician's library on your back: a pentagram seal under the hood, an open book, a dagger, a chalice and columns of angelic script, all in gold that darkens to old bronze toward the hem, like a manuscript page lit by a single candle. The script nods to the Call of the Thirty Aethyrs from Enochian magick, so the spellbook has a real pedigree. Add a staff and you're the wizard at the ren faire; add a lantern and you're leading the night walk to the far stage. Our Enochian Vision colorway guide tells the full story.
The dance-floor monk. The Void Mandala Women's Festival Cloak ($250) is lace for the night. Pale silver-grey mandalas drift down the back like ripples on dark water, an Om set into one of them, and quieter rosettes trail along the sleeves, fine as lace on an altar cloth. It's the quietest cloak in this edit, made for warehouse techno, a candlelit solstice circle or a midnight gallery opening.
The star-reader. The Angel Catcher Grey Festival Women's Cloak ($250) is the softest shade in this edit, charcoal rather than jet, and it charts the heavens in white ink: star triangles and grey knotwork across the front, and a Flower of Life held between two six-pointed stars on the back. Ours is shown with the white faux-fur lining, which lights the hood up like a halo, a lovely trick for a costume that needs a glowing face in the dark. Phil, who bought an Angel Catcher cloak, wrote in October 2023: "I was pretty dang skeptical to make this purchase due to price… Was it worth it? Hell YES it was!"
Every cloak in this section shares the same spec: micro-mink poly outer, black or white faux-fur lining, heavy drawstrings, a double front zipper, two deep side pockets and two interior stash pockets (one zippered), unisex XS to 5XL, made to order.
What do you wear with a black cloak?
Anything, which is the beauty of it. Black under black makes the art the only thing that glows; a jewel-toned bodysuit or bright leggings turns the open cloak into a frame. Pick boots for walking and keep the essentials in the interior stash pockets. Magus Fawn cloaks zip closed, so the look works fully covered too.
We'd plan around the moment the cloak opens. Choose the black faux-fur lining and an all-black outfit for a long, unbroken silhouette that suits techno, goth nights and gallery openings. Choose the white lining and the cloak draws a bright frame around whatever you wear underneath, sequins, mesh or a single color pulled from the art: gold under the Golden Phoenix, violet under the Black Mystic Eye.
For the hours after the party, a black hooded blanket keeps the theme going. The Sacred Grounds hooded blanket with ears ($150) seats a golden figure in meditation inside an arched halo, a steaming cup of coffee below and orange wings opening at the shoulders, with coffee beans scattered over the black fleece like stars. Consider it the guardian of the camp kettle. It's 300 g/m² poly fleece cut as an oversized pullover with a cat-ear hood, a front quarter zip and an oversized front pocket, one size (4XL). Nicholas, who bought the matching Sacred Grounds cloak, wrote in December 2023: "First cloak ever. Super comfortable and warm. Fell asleep with it on. Kept me warm all night."
Will a black cloak keep you warm in winter?
A faux-fur-lined one will keep you cozy through cold festival nights and winter streets. Magus Fawn cloaks pair a micro-mink outer with a soft faux-fur lining, a hood with heavy drawstrings and a double front zipper. Size up if you'll wear a jacket or sweater underneath.
Our FAQ suggests sizing up for outerwear, "sometimes even 2 sizes up to fit extra layers under." If you're between sizes or planning a puffer underneath, email your measurements to art@magusfawn.com and we'll help you choose; we typically reply within 1–2 business days.
Every cloak is made to order. Production takes 7–11 business days, then delivery takes 6–14 business days, so order a few weeks ahead of the party, faire or winter trip you have in mind. Standard US shipping is free on orders of $70 and up. All sales are final, so the sizing email is worth the minute it takes.
To keep the black deep, machine wash cold with like colors, skip the bleach, and hang dry (or tumble dry low); don't iron or dry clean. Our guide to washing a festival cloak covers playa dust and more. The art is dye-sublimated into the fibers, so it won't crack or fade.
The night keeps its secrets
A black cloak is seven centuries of authority and elegance, cut long and given a hood. With art on it, it becomes a secret you carry through the dark and reveal on your own terms: a phoenix, a spellbook, a cathedral cross, a sky full of stars. Pick the story you want to tell when the lights hit.
Find your black cloak: women's cloaks · men's cloaks · all festival cloaks · hooded blankets
More cloak reading: are festival cloaks worth it?, Cosmic Cross cloaks in every colorway and can you wear a cloak every day?
Frequently asked questions
Is a black cloak good for a Renaissance faire?
Yes. A long, hooded black cloak fits wizard, scholar, monk and mysterious-traveler costumes, and black has dressed European judges and nobles since the 1300s, so it looks right among the period crowd. A Magus Fawn cloak adds art and four pockets, and its faux-fur lining helps on cool autumn faire evenings.
What is a gothic cloak?
A gothic cloak is a long, dark, hooded outer layer worn for goth nights, Halloween and dark-romantic style, usually in black. Magus Fawn's black cloaks fit that look with silver or gold art on black micro-mink, a drawstring hood, a faux-fur lining and a double front zipper, so they work as a coat too.
Should you wear a black cloak open or zipped?
Both, depending on the hour. Open, a Magus Fawn black cloak frames your outfit and shows off its faux-fur lining, black or white; zipped, it becomes one long piece of artwork from collar to hem and holds in the warmth. Most nights call for both: open on the dance floor, zipped for the walk back.
Why do judges and graduates wear black robes?
The custom is about seven centuries old. Wikipedia's history of black traces judges' black robes to France under Philip IV (1285–1314) and to England under Edward I, and says graduation gowns were copied from medieval professors' gowns, which borrowed from the robes of judges and priests. A black Magus Fawn cloak carries that same scholarly gravity.
Written by Magus & Lylyth Fawn, the Los Angeles artists behind Magus Fawn. Magus makes VR and digital visionary art and produces Psy EDM. Lylyth makes fractal digital art and runs design and customer care. We've been selling wearable art since 2020 (4.8★ from 147 reviews as of October 2026), and every piece is made to order here at magusfawn.com. Come say hi on Instagram @magusfawn.
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