The origins and uses of camouflage clothing
They say that clothes make the man. This is especially true when it comes to the military. A soldier’s clothing tells you about his loyalties, what branch of the army he is from, his rank, and even his title. The camouflage clothing a soldier wears is often the difference in determining life from death.
In World War I, trench warfare and aerial surveillance led to the need for soldiers to camouflage themselves to survive. In 1909, a book titled Hiding Color in the Animal Kingdom by Abbot Thayer was essential reading for the armed forces of many countries.
Bombs from above and bullets from all directions became a growing threat from which the soldiers had to camouflage themselves. The days of extravagant and glorious royalty had outgrown its use and had become very dangerous.
The use of psychologists and neuroscientists employing complex algorithms and “disorder metrics” (the study of how the eye locates and detects objects) has been used to create complex designs.
Many different camouflage patterns emerged, such as the “American forest” used by many countries, the “tiger stripe”, which was used extensively during the Vietnam War, and the “chocolate chip” or “cookie dough” used during the first Gulf War.
During the 1970s, hunting enthusiasts began wearing military camouflage clothing patterns when they began to draw vertical lines of trees on their tie-dyed pants and coats. This gave way to the patented “Trebark” camo clothing pattern that was widely advertised in all major hunting and outdoor catalogs around the world.
The 1980s gave way to a craving for camouflage clothing that spread to the mainstream fashion industry when teens, hunters, and athletes began wearing camouflage clothing not only in their sporting activities, but as an everyday part of their lives. usual attractions.
Today you can find camouflage clothing in a variety of colors, from blue, pink, and even bright neon colors, as well as different clothing items, from hats, to shoes, to pajamas, and even to wedding dresses.
Camouflage is not strictly limited to clothing, it is also found in all kinds of things that people wear in their daily lives. Car and truck accessories, bedding, home furnishings are some of the ways that people have found to express themselves with these different patterns.
The military is also finding other uses for camouflage to better hide airports, oil tankers, and military installations from aerial detection. A temporary camouflage painted on the tanks can be washed just as quickly.
In some countries thin plastic sheets are continually being developed that can be adapted and mixed in a soldier environment using light-emitting diodes and a small camera. Others are developing a fabric that can prevent infrared radar from detecting body heat called a “stealth poncho.”
As you can clearly see, camo clothing has come a long way from its original origins and will only get better in the future as new technologies become available.
