11/20/2024
It’s Hip Hop history month! So here’s a little education about the roots of camouflage fashion in Hip-Hop.
Almost as soon as camouflage became widespread in military use, it was simultaneously being worn at home. Civilians, inspired by the outfits and images of war as early as WW1 (1914 to 1918), adapted camouflage for their own fashion parties. However, use of camouflage off the battlefield really skyrocketed when veterans returned from Vietnam (early 1970’s), and began protesting the war in their fatigues.
Soon, camo was the de-facto uniform for anti-war protestors. At the same time, the likes of Andy Warhol were using the fabric for artworks, opening the gates for fashion designers to appropriate the design!
The incorporation of camouflage into hip-hop culture was less clear, slowly popping up on the streets in the 1970s. The appeal was threefold - camouflage was not really expensive, it had a militant and violent connotation, and hard-wearing. It didn’t hurt that military clothing often had the boxy silhouette so dominant in hip-hop fashion, pairing well with oversized denim and bulky boots.
Just as anti-war protestors, and later Black Panthers had, the legendary Hip-Hop duo Public Enemy wore military garments to emphasize their anti-establishment message - a militarized reaction against oppression inside the U.S. It links in to the wider comparison of inner-city areas to war zones, both perceived to be under assault by the government.
, both inspired by Japanese recreations of US military garments and hip-hop, soon was incorporating a head ‘ABC’ camouflage into collections in bulk, further cementing camouflage into streetwear, and flipping its original negative connotation. The push from the Japanese side triggered a fresh boost in popularity for the fashion industry in the 00s - since then, it’s been continually swinging in and out of fashion trends as Hip-Hop artists reach back into 90s fashion for their swag.
