Cover story

Since Sir Edward Poulton’s pioneering study The Colours of Animals was published in 1890, the importance of disguise in the natural world — and, by extension, in the human one — has been widely recognised and exploited. As technology changed the patterns and prospects of warfare, with aerial reconnaissance and long-range shelling becoming a nasty reality, so the need for discretion and subterfuge was more readily apparent. No longer were scarlet uniforms a good idea on soldiers; no longer should an army stand up and be counted. Concealment and dissimulation were the order of the day. Honour, chivalry and honesty may have suffered irrecoverable body blows, but who cared? Dishonesty won wars. What the wider impact of this discovery on human nature may have been it is perhaps too early to tell, but it would make a fascinating subject for research. Instead, this exhibition examines the superficial influence that camouflage has exercised on culture during the past century — principally in the field of fashion.