Influences from the trenches

The "military" has historically had an unmistakable impact on fashion. In the last hundreds of years, military-style clothing has become pieces that not only occupy the wardrobe but they are cornerstones in the environment of fashion. Some of these garments have crossed the borders of the soldiery world to become part of our lives and our culture. Personally, one of my favourite garment in this category is jumpsuits; an attire that first became popular in the 1950s and is being revived to inject diversity in men's wardrobes. The jumpsuit came to use when the overalls were not enough for work or weather reasons and, little by little, its design was being polished until, in the following decades, it began to be considered a ‘cool’ garment. Trailblazers of its broader use outside the professional field were numerous music bands throughout the years; amongst them, to name a few, were the rap trio Beastie Boys, the heavy metal group Slipknot and the rockers, Devo. All of them, found in the jumpsuit the perfect uniform to differentiate themselves from the rest, making that way a fashion statement and achieving an industrial-style aesthetic that would attract attention. In recent seasons, fashion firms have sought exactly the same, and they have succeeded.

Some basics, starting with the white t-shirt, which was officially designated as part of the U.S. Navy uniform in 1913, as a means of combating the heat in tropical climates and aboard submarines, but also to prevent soiling the uniform while dirty jobs get done. When it comes to more classic than basic, there is no older element in the army than the tie. The French adopted the bright scarves that Croatian mercenaries wore tightly around their necks when they arrived in Paris, dressed for battle “During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)”. They adapted the look, looping the mufflers loosely, calling it "La cravate." Although this is the true forerunner of its current version, it would take a few hundred years for the tie to evolve into the narrow strip of fabric that we now recognise as one. Another military element of our day are cargo trousers. This type of trousers are known to have been first worn in the United States as part of military uniforms in the 1940s. The original style of cargo trousers had a pocket on the side thigh and another on the front hip. The side pockets were initially only on the paratrooper uniforms, allowing them easy access to ammunition and radios. Furthermore, the camouflage print as the most popular representation of the military, has its origins in France. The word derives from the Parisian popular slang, which means "to disguise oneself”. After the French army began employing artists to paint its artillery and observation posts with the now omnipresent pattern, the more traditional World War I multicolour jackets and white suit trousers were replaced completely. Another one, worth mentioning is the pie coat that first became popular in the 16th century by the Dutch who were a powerful naval force. An aesthetically pleasing garment, but above all durable and warm with large lapels and vertical pockets. The coat was quickly imitated and slightly modified according to the amount of wool required, depending on the region people were sailing in.

On the accessory side, The Tank watch by Cartier has a great military symbolism. Louis Cartier created that model in 1917 and presented the prototype as a gift to General Pershing (a United States Army officer who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I) a few years before the watch was introduced to the market, in 1919. Having been designed after the modernistic Renault tank, inspired directly by the footprints of it, it became "the first" elegant watch for the modern man of action. Back to clothing, an important addition to it all was the design concept of the parka. One to offer flexible protection during extreme cold by being able to disassemble all parts and designed to be tied around the legs for additional insulation. Used by American troops during the Korean War, it was the result of previous attempts to create the perfect version of the coat during World War II. They needed to be warm, but not cumbersome due to the humid climate they encountered and the resulting waterproof nylon and cotton construction certainly did the trick. Moving down on footwear, although Wellies is as old as the Duke of Wellington and the 18th century, their production was dramatically boosted during World War I due to the flooded trenches and the need for a boot suited to the conditions. Made with the technology invented by Charles Goodyear, who had managed to understand the vulcanization process of natural rubber to keep the soldiers' feet dry; that was, instead of using knee-length leather as in the first versions. 1,185,036 pairs were ordered to be manufactured to meet the demands of the British Army.

The colour khaki was introduced around the 1840s, when Harry Lumsden, an officer in command of a unit of the Bengal cavalry, instigated new notions of what he considered as the most suitable garment to fight the war in the plains of Punjab, India when it was hot. There, garments and turbans began to be dyed with mazari, a local plant that turned everything into a kind of dull brownish grey. Leather goods were dyed with blackberry juice, which produced a more yellowish hue, but both colours became known as khaki, from the Persian word "khak," which means earth, dust, or ashes.

I am wearing a khaki colour, balloon-style jumpsuit, fitted at the waist and looser in the rest areas, pairing it with another military element, a basic white tank top underneath. These accompany the multi-coloured derby shoes with matching mustard, stripy socks and check-print rain mac with an ivory base and thin lines in black, red and yellow. The accessories I picked are an ivory/navy tote bag and my dad’s vintage watch. The perfect mix between military and classic along with smart and casual.