Dries van Noten proved his eminence for employing culturally and historically referenced prints once again this season, with his extensive use of camouflage in his S/S13 menswear collection...
Dries van Noten proved his eminence for employing culturally and historically referenced prints once again this season, with his extensive use of camouflage in his S/S13 menswear collection. Alongside cotton and canvas trousers, shorts and jackets, the print also featured on unexpected fabrics such as voile and elegant shantung silk, and was even suggested in the subtle patterns of a lace shirt, subverting the traditionally masculine print through delicate, feminine textures.
First introduced into the army and navy in the early nineteenth century, camouflage was rapidly developed during the First World War to keep up with the increasing accuracy of military weapons. Artists such as André Mare used Cubist techniques to create a form of visual deception, causing the French slang term camoufler, meaning 'disguise or conceal', to be adopted by soldiers to describe their illusory uniforms. The combative element of the camouflage in Van Noten's collection was reinforced by the pure, optical white of protective fencing garments which punctuated the military theme.
"The combative element of the camouflage in Van Noten's collection was reinforced by the pure, optical white of protective fencing garments which punctuated the military theme"
The illusion created by a khaki-clad soldier shimmying through the jungle isn't the only subtext of camouflage; the key to Van Noten's success with the print is in its durability. Fashion's recurring attraction to camouflage was evident in the womenswear A/W10 collections at both Prada and Dior, and cropped up again one day later when Rei Kawakubo opened the Comme des Garçons show with a camo-print shirt and trousers. It seems that camouflage's stylistic longevity is due in part to its suggestion of dissimulation and concealment, which, ultimately, is one of fashion's primary concerns.
Durability wasn't the only theme at play here, though; the softer undertones of Van Noten's collection, visible in the varied, fluid fabrics and the extended proportions of separate pieces, suggest that it was the grey area between hard and soft which so fascinated the designer this season. Dries' ode to masculinity, like camouflage itself, may not necessarily be what it seems.
Text by Maisie Skidmore
