Camouflage
(in association with the Imperial War Museum)
Tim Newark
Introduction by Jonathan Miller
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| ‘Stylish and extravagantly illustrated … excellent’ | | – Time Out |
| ‘Fascinating … traces the often subversive story of this design classic’ | | – The Gloss Magazine |
Camouflage has become a global cult in today’s fashion and design world. Its fascinating story tells of the interplay between military developments and the worlds of art, design and popular culture on the other.
The animal kingdom provides examples of all the essential principles of camouflage: the chameleon, whose colours change to merge with its setting; the zebra, whose vivid stripes disrupt its outline and make it more difficult for predators to sight from a distance; the stick insect that pretends to be what it’s not.
New creativity in the military art of disguise was spurred in the First World War by the threats of aerial reconnaissance and long-range enemy fire. By the 1970s, disruptive pattern uniforms were worn by soldiers of most nations, and had become as much a way of identifying allegiance as of protecting from detection. Today, as modern advances in imaging techniques make straightforward visual deception redundant, scientists are developing super high-tech solutions.
But camouflage has flourished in peace as well as in war.
Artists and designers have explored the themes and extremes of camouflage and optical illusion, while camouflage patterns in clothing and accessories have filtered from the street to the catwalk and back again.
This wonderfully stylish and appealing book accompanies a major exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. Together they are a dazzling revelation of camouflage’s power in nature, war and design.
Further information about the exhibition and the story of camouflage can be found at The Imperial War Museum Website
Tim Newark is editor of Military Illustrated, the leading English-language military history and uniforms magazine.
Jonathan Miller is a doctor of medicine who has worked in opera, television and the visual arts.
Also of interest:
Textile Designs: 200 Years of Patterns for
Printed Fabrics
Natural Surfaces: Visual Research for
Artists, Architects and Designers
The Elements of Design: Rediscovering Colours,
Textures, Forms and Shapes
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|  |  | | | | ISBN 0500513473 | | ISBN-13 978-0500513477 | | | | 27.0 x 24.6 cm | | PLC with Jacket | | 192pp | | 280 illustrations, 248 in colour | | First published 2007 | | | | £24.95 | | | |  | | | | 
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