Camouflage has a long and varied history - and a technological future.
What Is Camouflage?
Camouflage (also known as cryptic coloration) is any combination of color, material, or illumination that helps to conceal the wearer - whether through disguising them as something else or by making them hard to see.
Camouflage in Nature
Blending in with nature is no new concept. From the dawn of time, humans have found ways to conceal themselves. It starts with nature, where many animals cleverly mimic the colors and patterns of their environments to escape identification and hide from their predators or prey.
Camouflage has been a topic of interest and research in zoology for over a century. Two British zoologists and an American artist played key roles in translating camouflage in nature into techniques that humans could put to military use.
Sir Edward Poulton published the first book on camouflage in 1890, “The Colours of Animals”. Sir Poulton believed that animal mimicry for concealment was proof of natural selection. In the book, Sir Poulton classified different types of animal mimicry, of which the “protective resemblance”, or the resemblance of an object to its environment that causes it to blend with the substrate, was considered to be the main method of early military camouflage.
The American naturalist and painter Abbot Thayer then popularized two particular concepts of camouflage: “countershading” and “disruptive coloration” with his 1909 book “Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom”. Countershading is a form concealing coloration in which the upper surfaces of the body are more darkly pigmented than the unilluminated lower areas, giving the body a more uniform darkness and a lack of depth relief. Disruptive coloration, on the other hand, discusses that the identity and location of an animal may be concealed through coloration because the pattern does not coincide with the shape and outline of the body.
In 1940, zoologist Hugh Cott built on Sir Poulton’s more scientific concepts with ideas of his own, namely contour obliteration and shadow elimination. By blurring the defining edges and reducing the appearance of shadows of an object, contour obliteration made it difficult to perceive a continuous form.
The Beginning of Military Camouflage
The first human uses of camouflage date back centuries, but up until long-range rifles were introduced, many western militaries still wore brightly colored outfits. From the middle of the 19th century, armies began using military khaki to reduce visibility. The British dyed their white uniforms with coffee and tea, resulting in the lighter brown shade known as khaki. Despite this, bright military apparel still dominated until the early 20th century. In addition to practical considerations like durability and visibility, military uniforms did offer the “psychological edge” of making the soldiers feel “battle-ready”.
Camouflage During the World Wars
Military camouflage uniforms date back to 1915 when the French enlisted the help of artists (camoufleurs) to develop new uniforms after a crushing defeat by the Germans during the First World War. This is where the name camouflage originates. At the time, camouflage became popular in the form of hand-painted uniforms. The French army abandoned its uniforms consisting of white gloves and red pantaloons. Camouflage was so clearly useful that within a year, numerous European and American armies formed their own teams of painters.
The First World War was the first full-scale industrial conflict fought with modern firearms. The use of rapid firing machine guns and long-range breech loading artillery quickly led to camouflaging of vehicles and positions. It was during the First World War that camouflage became essential. The First World War also saw the birth of aerial warfare, and with it the need not only to conceal positions and vehicles from being spotted from the air, but also the need to camouflage the aircraft themselves.
The Second World War saw the rise of mechanical printed patterns onto fabric, bringing the distinctive variations of pattern into sharper focus. Each nation had not only one, but several unique camouflage patterns, with different versions matched to the battle landscape like snow, desert, jungle and forest. Certain woodland camouflages tend toward browns, while others move toward greens. Tigerstripe and Lizard camouflage show distinctions that relate to different jungles. Camouflage patterns also have cultural functions such as political identification.
From Military Wear to Streetwear
Camouflage fabric patterns quickly infiltrated popular culture since their inception in military use. A soldier’s uniform portrays characteristics such as honor, courage, and allegiance to one’s nation. The fascination with camouflage patterns in fashion could be a reflection of the fact that the first designers were artists who hand-painted patterns onto military uniforms. Today, camouflage is popular in everything from clothing and apparel to accessories like bags and purses.
The Future of Modern Military Camouflage
Digital design has also revolutionized pattern making. Some forms of camouflage have elements of scale invariance, designed to disrupt outlines at different distances, typically digital camouflage patterns made of pixels. It is worth noting that while the term “digital camouflage” is used to describe a motif with computer-generated pixelated edges, early versions were not designed with softwares.
As the face of conflict evolved, military camouflage has adapted, too: first to long-range weapons, and more recently to technologies such as night vision devices, where textiles are designed to reflect infrared and remain undetected. To produce a camouflage that fits the modern era, it is required not only disrupting the visual signature of the wearer, but also their IR signature.
With infrared sensors going through rapid developments, scientists are now exploring the possibilities of military camouflage. For example, high-tech camouflage can now conceal body heat from enemy sensors or harness fibre-optics to match a fabric dynamically to its surroundings. Technologists are also progressing towards a camouflage that bends light waves to render objects.
The story of camouflage is one of invention and artistry. As the years go on, technology will continue to push, and military uniforms and equipment will continue to develop and enhance.
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Euphoria Functional Fabrics (Eu-Tex) is a premier technical textiles provider based in Taipei, Taiwan. We are one of the leading suppliers of high-performance, highly engineered textiles to armed forces and military industries.