Camouflage Is Back (Yes, Again) And Here’s How To Wear It

If it feels to you like camouflage prints are a trend every season, you’re not losing your mind. The motif is masculine, muted, and not complicated to reproduce on the cheap, which makes it too tempting for designers and brands both high and low to pass up. Every season there’s a handful of folks to issue it to customers—and this season is no different. This summer’s spin on camo is a bit different, though, and here’s why: Instead of embracing camouflage’s understated, earthy qualities (you know, the ones that help soldiers blend in with their wooded surroundings), instead of tailoring it into submission, brands have turned the volume on the print way up and loosened the reins on the fit, too. Think: Jean-Claude Van Damme in Street Fighter and ‘NSYNC in their heyday. Probably safe to say it isn’t the classic and chill version you’re used to wearing. But when you take away the hair gel, the ribbed tank, the barbed-wire arm tattoo, ’90s- and ’00s-era camouflage is a lot more palatable. It’s still loud, it’s still manly to the point of silliness, but it’s also fun and confident in a way that feels right for summer—and this one in particular. We say embrace it. You’ll be back in those simple, toned-down camo prints eventually, so enjoy this moment of excess. See more at GQ.