Discussing their style while in All Saints, Nicole and Natalie Appleton said earlier this year that some things don’t change: “Army trousers and combat trousers will always be a staple with us.”
asserted
trousers → discuss → us
If, for a long time after All Saints’ noughties heyday, the sisters would have known this look was not the height of fashion, things have changed in 2026.
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things → know → 2026
Judging by those attending shows at London fashion week this month, camo is very much back.
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camo → judge → week
Worn with heels, beaded flats, camisoles and shirting, camo trousers became a standout front-row trend, one that had first been spotted at Copenhagen fashion week in August.
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that → wear → August
Vogue described it as “a clear winner among the trends we spotted outside the shows”.
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we → describe → shows
Fashion editors aren’t alone either: celebrities including Alexa Chung and Iris Law have worn camo recently.
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celebrities → include → camo
And Brad Pitt, promoting his new survival movie Heart of the Beast, looked the part wearing camo trousers and matching jacket this month.
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Pitt → promote → trousers
Hetty Mahlich, a brand editor at Burberry, was photographed wearing her army surplus camo pants at fashion week.
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Mahlich → photograph → week
She likes the way they can give a sense of contrast to an outfit: “They go with a vintage nightdress or a white baby tee, but they’re also great with a heel as I never like feeling too dressed up.”
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I → like → heel
Camo is becoming more popular beyond those in the front row.
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Camo → become → row
Searches have increased 108% on the resale app Depop since April and brands ranging from Zara to Marks & Spencer and Adidas are selling it on the high street.
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brands → increase → street
Maharishi, the label that dressed All Saints in their camo pants, has enjoyed a revival: it collaborated with Arsenal in 2023 on a popular camo-tinged collection.
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it → dress → collection
Most of the wearers of camo now are looking to the last moment it was fashionable – with bands such as All Saints and Destiny’s Child in the early noughties.
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it → look → noughties
A Grazia article post-Copenhagen described camo as “a trend I’ve buried in the place in my mind where Facebook photo albums and concealer lips live”.
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albums → describe → mind
However, with a generation born at this time now coming of age, the era is being looked at with nostalgia.
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era → bear → nostalgia
This was when camo went mass market, said Andrew Groves, a professor of fashion design at the University of Westminster.
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Groves → go → Westminster
“By the noughties, camouflage had become completely normalised,” he said.
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he → become → noughties
“You could wear camo trousers without consciously making a military statement.
uncertain
You → wear → statement
It had become comparable to tartan or leopard print.”
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It → become → tartan
Of course, the history of camo – or camouflage – begins with the military.
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history → begin → military
It was first used extensively in the first world war.
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It → use → war
By the time of the Vietnam war in the 1960s, camo was also being worn as a statement – by those in the US opposed to the war.
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camo → wear → war
In the 80s, the pattern moved across to high fashion – after Andy Warhol’s camouflage paintings were used in a collection by Stephen Sprouse in 1987.
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paintings → move → 1987
“By then it wasn’t simply military clothing any more,” said Groves.
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Groves → say → ?
Fast forward nearly 40 years and the trend for camo comes with a backdrop of wars around the world.
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trend → come → world
Groves said even with the now-established place in fashion, the military connections remained – but this might be part of the appeal: “It carries associations with warfare but also protest and counterculture.
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It → say → warfare
That ambiguity is perhaps why fashion keeps returning to it.”
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fashion → keep → it
For Mahlich, the wearers of camo since the 60s mean the military element fades into the background.
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element → mean → background
“I think of it more as a universal pattern,” she said.
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she → think → pattern
“Military uniforms have been co-opted by subcultures and on the runway for so long that now they have new meanings and associations.”
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they → co → meanings
The Aporia
