Uniform-undone: A study in the repurposing of military attire through history and in experimental practice

Abstract

This article reports on a practice-led research project focusing on military attire as both a subject and an agent of change. An historical account situates the origins of modern military attire within the emergent modern state during the nineteenth century, and then examines its subsequent role as part of the project to create a ‘new man’ in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. This is followed by a critical discussion of the decoupling of military attire from its associations with the institutions of state and warfare during the Vietnam War – where fatigues entered the popular atmosphere as casual attire that was variously subversive, countercultural and aesthetic in nature. Employing the MA-1 bomber jacket and camouflage as illustrative examples, the article then highlights the continued repurposing of military attire and its concomitant commoditization. The practice-led research employs object-based research, speculative artistic methodologies and various garment-making techniques in the production of a novel ‘military’ garment that explores the symbolism of military uniforms and critiques their traditional concept as utilitarian combat wear. The material outcomes interrogate linkages between military attire and notions of masculinity, class and gender identity. The research project further attempts to speculate on how military attire may be repurposed within the atmosphere of the twenty-first century – one that contemplates new forms of identity and other challenges that are responsive to contemporary circumstances.