Military Inspirations
Military uniform inspired fashion designs not only make ‘come backs’ but continue to evolve and reflect. History of military fashion is too vast, Coco Chanel introduced marinière, striped sailor sweaters, also known as Breton shirts, in 1917 womenswear collection which later became Jean Paul Gaultier’s signature design motif during the 1980s.
There was John Galliano’s Samurai inspired 2007 FW menswear collection and more recently, Yohji Yamamoto’s 2013 SS ready-to-wear where models walked down loose fit khaki green jumpsuits complete with combat boots and aviator goggles.
At the moment, it feels like ‘how did we ever live without bomber jackets?’ From Rick Owen’s distressed suede leather bomber, Undercover’s reversible sateen bomber to Moschino’s cable knit casual bomber jacket, sky is the limit when choosing the just right bomber style jacket.
Bomber jacket was first introduced to the U.S Army by its Aviation Clothing Board in 1917 which later became A2 Bomber Jacket for the U.S Air Corp during 1930s. Back then bomber jackets were made of heavy duty leather with high collars to protect pilots in high altitude climates accompanied by newly commissioned anti-glare eyewear now simply called as ‘aviators.’
Bomber jacket was first introduced to the U.S Army by its Aviation Clothing Board in 1917 which later became A2 Bomber Jacket for the U.S Air Corp during 1930s. Back then bomber jackets were made of heavy duty leather with high collars to protect pilots in high altitude climates accompanied by newly commissioned anti-glare eyewear now simply called as ‘aviators.’
Besides the jacket and aviator sunglasses, the U.S military gave us crewneck t-shirts. Wow, I love t-shirts. The Europeans gave us Dr. Martens boots, developed by Dr. Klaus Martens after his ankle injury during the World War Two, as well as classic trench coats, first introduced in 1853 during the Crimean War and military camouflage, a military deception tactic that was used by the French army during the First World War when Post-Impressionism and Fauvism painters were employed to paint uniforms and machineries.
For 2017 SS, Vetements released laceless Dr. Martens collaboration boots, Hanes T-shirts with printed list of its collective names and oversized heavy duty Alpha Industries bomber jacket. Virgil Abloh's Off-White features military camouflage t-shirts, accessories, M65 jackets as well as rose embroidered khaki green military jackets with frayed edges. (So it’s like you just came from a battle field but it was in a rose garden.) Kenzo and Palm Angels released their interpretation of military camouflage patterns for their signature casual streetwear while Juun.J made a break from his minimalist style with heavy weight utility garments in khaki green with oversized fits.