THE IMPACT OF MILITARY COSTUME ON 21st CENTURY FASHION

The Impact Of Military Costume On 21st Century Fashion is a small and intimate collection.  This exhibition concentrates solely on a small collection of military jackets and accessories, and their connections to fashion in the 21st century.  The military pieces have been mixed together with the modern to highlight
and emphasise the similarities between the two.  Moreover, to obviously show how all the pieces could work together to create a collection that could be seen on catwalks today. The Collection does not focus on a particular gender.  It concentrates on the way that fashion elements from nearly a hundred years ago have reworked into all aspects of 21st Century fashion as whole. 

Military Jacket from 1900

One of the first in the line of ‘new’ camouflage military costume.  The old red coat was changed to a camouflage green/kaki colour to protect military men when fighting in the field.  What needs to be focused on here is the belt around the waist of the jacket.   Not only is the belt an addition to the plain old military jacket, the exact style and placement of this very belt can be recognised in fashion houses such as Burberry.  Other adaptations of belts around the waists of coats have been seen continuously in fashion for decades.  What is interesting with this jackets’ belt is how an almost exact translation has been made for the fashion house Burberry Prorsum.  However its purpose is purely fashion based and designed to a female form instead of a male.  

Both images taken from the Spring/Summer 2010 Burberry Prorsum show

As stated in the photograph of the military belt above, the belt here created by the fashion House  Burberry Prorsum has a significant resemblance to the Military one.  What is to be focused on here is how a piece of military costume from the early 1900 has been brought back into the 21^st century as a very stylish and furthermore very feminine accessory.  What it perfectly illustrates is the massive impact the British military does still have on British fashion today.

Taken from the Spring/Summer 2010 Burberry Prorsum Show

An oversized jacket clearly shows resemblance to the green military costume jackets seen from the 1900’s.  What has been taken from the military is the kaki colour, fastenings and basic shape, however to freshen it up the pattern has been changed slightly to make it modern and more masculine.  

Typical Red Military Coat from 1810

Here it is the fastenings and finishing’s of the jacket that can be seen on so many blazers and coats in fashion today.  The strict lines on the chest of this jacket and large bold buttons really stand out and have caught the eye of many designers, to mention one, Balenciaga.   Although here intended for a man, many of the finishing’s seen on this jacket have been replicated onto women’s clothing.  Its impact is huge, being a style dating up to 200 years old.