Think camouflage and you think military, perhaps Desert Storm and maybe Jake Gyllenhaal in a Santa hat, right? Not for long, if certain menswear designers have anything to do with it – this season, fashion reclaims the traditional camouflage print from GI Joe’s barracks, the Occupy London-ers’ tents and Cheryl Cole’s tour wardrobe to bring it right up to date as a discernible trend for the gents.
A number of designers showed camouflage pieces in their spring/summer collections and used the technique in different ways. Acne packed the shapes much tighter in their print, resulting in a look that could almost be drunken polka dots instead of camouflage, and used green, but also blue and orange to give a variety of looks. Tommy Hilfiger kept his camo shapes traditional, but went a step further than Acne with the colour, showing jackets and shorts in a red/purple/pink mix and a cropped jacket and sweater in blues and blacks. Barbour, true to form, have kept things old-school in their Heritage range, with their famous quilted coats in a couple of camo patterns, but have also offered hats and bags in camouflage prints – great, since accessories are the quickest, easiest and usually most affordable way into any trend. Add to these Miharayasuhiro, Beams Plus, Superdry, Carhartt – the list goes on.
Camouflage is usually less about being invisible than it is about not being noticed. Thank heavens for fashion, turning everything on its head – worn with style, the camo trend is bound to get you some ‘Attention!’ this summer.
Acne images © 2011 Acne. All rights reserved / Tommy Hilfiger images © 2011 Tommy Hilfiger. All rights reserved / Barbour images © 2011 Barbour. All rights reserved / Beams Plus images © 2011 Beams Plus. All rights reserved / Miharayasuhiro © 2011 Miharayasuhiro. All rights reserved