Mark Dery, in the November 2006 issue of ID Magazine, considers that given the situation in Iraq, shouldn’t the designers and wearers of camouflage clothing have a conscience and avoid these patterns.

But isn’t there a moment when the horrors of war become so grisly that even the most apolitical designer riding the camo wave should experience a sharp pain in the conscience? Not according to Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, which is currently showing an exhibition about military influences on women’s fashion (see page 101 of this issue for a review). “The vast majority of fashion designers are responding purely to visual cues,” says Steele, “which are much more likely to be in some hip movie than in anything that’s happening on the front page.”

As for my take on this, having taking an issue with the militarization of fashion is one matter. Basing that view purely on the current Iraq conflict, however, is short sighted and in fact pointless. If you look beyond Iraq you can see a larger militarization at-play. Think language such as “power suits” and being “weekend warriors” and “dressed to kill”. To be aware of the militarization of fashion, is to be fully aware of the crossover of signs, symbols and symbology, i.e. the semiotics of it all.