Short History of Camouflage
A short time ago the Imperial War Museum has organized an exhibition devoted to camouflage.
The history of camouflage pattern goes back to the WWI. In 1915 the military began exercises involving air reconnaissance missions to identify and disguise arms and infantry positions. Artists came up with a way to hide these positions. A simple pattern could do the trick blending personnel, vehicles and items into the terrain using multi colored fabrics or paints. This is known as DPM ( Disruptive Pattern Material) of the most widely used term camouflage.
Military products such as clothing incorporated itself into pop-culture after the Cold War. Anti war moods were subsiding. Designers Tom Ford (American) and John Galjano (British) picked up on these trends and started to design military inspired clothing for house of Gucci and Christian Dior. It is interesting that camouflage pattern dresses, skirts and tops made of light fabrics i.e. silk were mostly designed for female market.
Mass interest in camouflage arose in the late 1980′s, people couldn’t get enough of camouflage clothing. Military surplus clothing stocks were being sold out.
Giuliano, Gautie and others soon joined the group of military influenced designers. All of them made and are still making clothes in military style.
It is clear to anyone now that camouflage or DPM has had a huge effect on modern fashion. A new Camouflage Exhibition at the Royal Military Museum is a huge success in promoting camo style streetwear.
It is definitely an impressive exhibit of pop culture blending with something that was originally designed for other areas of application. It is quite a display of the evolution of camouflage as a necessity to combat all the way to it’s popular place in fashion and streetwear.
The exhibition was organized with the assistance of well know British streetwear-brand Maharachi creative director Hard Blechman, who is also the author of popular Encyclopedia of Camouflage.
