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Concealment - hiding an object or changing its colour, outline, texture or pattern so that it matches its background - is the most common camouflage technique.
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1. Camouflaged sniper gloves, P Tudor-Hart, 1917
© Artist's estate
Hand painted in oil on cotton, the striking camouflage design was presented to the British War Office. The pattern was tested for use on tanks and even suggested as camouflage for ships, but was finally ruled out.
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2. US 'Tiger Stripe' camouflage shirt, Vietnam War
Imperial War Museum UNI 5822
This design is believed to have been first worn by the Vietnamese marines from 1959. It was adopted for use by individual US Special Forces advisors during the earlier stages of the Vietnam conflict and later used by other elite formations including those of Australia and New Zealand.
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3. Red-eyed tree frog
© Kennan Ward/CORBIS Corbis A2900140
Studies by 19th and 20th century naturalists had noted the use of visual subterfuge in the animal kingdom long before camouflage became a military priority. Hugh Cott observed that the markings on many frogs appear random when their legs are splayed, but align to form disruptive patterns when folded in to their bodies.
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One form of Camouflage - dazzle - left its subject visible but distorted its appearance. Devised for ships in the First World War, it was the most public and visually striking form of the new art of camouflage.
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4. London Transport poster advertising the Imperial War Museum, E Wadsworth, 1936
London's Transport Museum © TFL
Imperial War Museum PST 4624
Edward Wadsworth was serving as a naval intelligence officer in the Mediterranean when he was recruited to apply dazzle designs to ships. He oversaw dazzle painting at Bristol and Liverpool docks and went on to produce a series of woodcuts and paintings inspired by dazzle patterns.
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5. Yvonne Gregory, dressed for the Chelsea Arts Club 'Dazzle Ball', B Park, 1919
© Estate of Bertram Park
National Portrait Gallery, London
Chelsea Arts Club chose the theme of wartime camouflage for its first post war ball with costumes inspired by Norman Wilkinson's naval designs.
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6. Dockyard, Portsmouth, 1918, J D Fergusson, 1918
© Fergusson Gallery, Perth and Kinloss Council, Scotland
Imperial War Museum ART 5728
Fergusson lived in France from 1905 and was strongly influenced by European avant-garde artists.
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Dummies, decoys and disguises, unlike other camouflage devices, have to be seen to be effective. Their purpose is to trick enemies into making false assessments of the strength, position or composition of opposing forces, or to fool them into attacking fake targets.
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7. Papier-mâché heads at the British Army camouflage school, First World War
Imperial War Museum Q95957
This British camouflage device used during the First World War was intended to deceive enemy snipers into exposing their positions.
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8. The Big Tower, Camouflaged, C W Moss, 1943
Imperial War Museum ART LD 3025
This water tower was disguised with images of houses as well as disruptive pattern painted. The intention was to confuse an enemy bomb-aimer, if only for a few seconds.
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9. Vietnam veterans, wearing their uniforms, protest against the war, Capitol Hill, early 1970s
© Wally McNamee/CORBIS
Corbis WL001886
Leaders of veterans Against War seized and occupied the Statue of Liberty for three days in December 1971 in opposition to the Vietnam War. The wearing of camouflage by protestors helped camouflage enter the popular imagination.
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10. Maharishi Mr Freedom recycled M65 jacket, 2004
© Maharishi
Part of the Maharishi label's spring/summer 2004 recycled range. The 1960s London-based label Mr Freedom, famed for its psychedelic designs, was invited by Maharishi to apply its 'All You Need is Love' artwork to authentic Swedish and American military surplus garments. This US 'Woodland' pattern jacket bears lettering, hearts, stars, recyclable logos and a CND badge.
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Although disruptive pattern camouflage has remained a symbol of military identity, it has also become a recurring motif in popular culture, particularly fashion and art. It has been used as a uniform for anti-war protestors, taken up by singers and musicians and has continued to inspire artists and designers. Its adoption by the civilian world has given disruptive pattern a new purpose. It is now worn by millions not to blend in, but to stand out.
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11. Lily Cole wears camouflage ballgown by Jean Paul Gaultier at Paris Fashion Week, October 2006
© Getty Images
Getty 72075258
The French designer caused a stir with this extravagant camouflage chiffon gown in his spring/summer 2000 collection and it was later worn by Lily Cole in a retrospective of his work.
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