Fashion Army

Matthieu Nicol’s Fashion Army undertakes a unique investigation of the evolution ofmilitary attire into iconic fashion. With exclusive access to a declassified US Army archive,Nicol presents 350 images tracing the transformation of military style from the late1960s to the early 1990s. These rarely seen images show the meticulous developmentof uniforms designed to meet the demands of the battlefield as well as everyday militarylife, as well as being ambiguous images of masculinity and selfhood. Nicol focuses on theawkward yet familiar nuances of individuals posing, with their tentative smiles and uneasystances. Through these compellingly edited and sequenced images, Fashion Army formsan account of style, innovation, and the enduring and charged impact of military attire onpopular fashion and identity, offering a nuanced reading of how the military’s necessitybecomes fashion’s trend.Includes an essay by renowned fashion critic Angelo Flaccavento, offering criticalperspective on the interplay between military functionality and the fashion industry.