![]() So many factors were involved that it was impossible to determine which were important, and whether any of the colour schemes were effective.ĭazzle attracted the notice of artists, with Picasso notably claiming cubists had invented it. The result was that a profusion of dazzle schemes was tried, and the evidence for their success was at best mixed. Each ship's dazzle pattern was unique to avoid making classes of ships instantly recognisable to the enemy. Norman Wilkinson explained in 1919 that dazzle was intended more to mislead the enemy as to the correct position to take up than actually to miss his shot when firing.ĭazzle was adopted by the British Admiralty and the U.S. Unlike some other forms of camouflage, dazzle works not by offering concealment but by making it difficult to estimate a target's range, speed and heading. Credited to artist Norman Wilkinson, it consisted of complex patterns of geometric shapes in contrasting colours, interrupting and intersecting each other. Windell and Eric talk about Open Circuits on Embedded.USS West Mahomet in dazzle camouflage, 1918ĭazzle camouflage, also known as razzle dazzle or dazzle painting, was a family of ship camouflage used extensively in World War I and to a lesser extent in World War II.Perhaps soon e-ink fabrics will also provide changeable displays that disrupt QR and barcode readers, as well as other visual tracking systems. This picture of dazzle camouflage bathing suits from the 1919 New York Tribune was provided as a visual supplement to an excellent audio post by 99% Invisible on disruptive camouflage.Īnd as for the future? No discussion of dazzle would be complete with out mentioning CV Dazzle, which covers methods of using makeup and hairstyles to thwart face recognition software. The jazz bands produced sounds that have the same effect upon the ear as this “disruptive coloration” has upon the eye.Ī themed masquerade ball is one thing, but the patterns did also make their way into the mainstream culture of the time: The Dazzle Camouflage Pinboard by user Saruzza has some wonderful historical fashion examples, including a reference to a 1919 Dazzle Ball at the Chelsea Club.įrom a contemporary article (via camoupedia), comes this account:įour British naval officers, distinguished for their success at camouflage, had charge of designing the dresses, and the ballroom looked like the Grant Fleet with all its warpaint on, ready for action. At the time that dazzle camouflage was first introduced, the public was fascinated by it. Of course, this is not the first time dazzle camouflage has appeared in fashion. Worth noting is that many of the original dazzle patterns on ships were brightly colored, too. Some designs stray from simple black and white geometric patterns, but still effectlively confuse the eye, such as this Jersey Maxi Dress by Julie Brown. ![]() You can dazzle all the way to your toes, with these matching Black and White Platform Heels at Venus. The interrupted, striped, spiraling pattern creates the illusion (perhaps assisted by photoshop) that the diameter of the dress is somewhat smaller than it is in reality. The Print and Proper dress at Modcloth is another new example.Īnd the Poleci Women’s Cross Front Striped Longsleeve Top from FavBuy creates the illusion of a strangely misshapen abdomen. Thanks to the “mountain range” in the middle, one might initially perceive this to be a maternity dress. This Print Wrap dress at Uupto distorts the model’s curves in strange ways. In the photo above, of the USS Mahomet in port (circa November 1918), it’s hard to make out even the out the shape of the ship.Īdditional good examples of ships with dazzle camouflage can be seen here, here, and here (in an article that discusses the design process for the patterns).Ĭuriously, dazzle camouflage seems to have made a recent comeback in fashion. This is different from traditional camouflage, which tries only to minimize visibility, but can be surprisingly effective. Now, where have we seen this kind of thing before?Īh yes: Dazzle Camouflage! Dazzle camouflage was used in WWI to make ships more difficult to identify and target, by disguising their size, configuration, range and orientation. The pattern of angled, high-contrast shapes makes it remarkably difficult to see the actual shape of the dress underneath that print. ![]() However, we recently came across the above pictured dress (the Signature Shift Dress by Julie Brown), and noticed a peculiar quality about it. We’re no strangers to seeing an occasional hard-to-look-at article of clothing.
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