Other armies retained brighter colours. At the beginning of World War I, the French retained red (garance) trousers as part of their uniform. This was changed in early 1915. The French Army also adopted a new "horizon blue" jacket. The Belgian Army started using khaki uniforms in 1915.

The French also established a Section de Camouflage (Camouflage Department) in 1915, briefly headed by Eugene Corbin and then by Lucien- Victor Guirand de Scévola. The camouflage experts were, for the most part, painters, sculptors, theatre-set artists and such. Technological constraints meant that patterned camouflage uniforms were not mass-produced during World War I. Each patterned uniform was hand-painted, and so they were restricted to snipers, forward artillery observers, and other exposed individuals. More effort was put into concealing larger pieces of equipment and important structures. By mid-1915 the French section had four workshops (one in Paris and three nearer the front) mainly producing camouflage netting and painted canvas. Netting quickly moved from wire and fabric to use raffia, burlap, and cocoa— the integration of natural materials was always recommended.

Other nations

20th century wars

World War I

Units of Camoufleurs who were artists, designers, or architects in civilian life were also largely used by the forces of the United Kingdom (Camouflage Section established in late 1916 based at Wimereux) and the U.S. (New York Camouflage Society, established in April 1917; official Company A, 40th Engineers, set up in January 1918; and the Women's Reserve Camouflage Corps) and to a lesser extent by Germany (from 1917, see, for example, Lozenge, possibly the earliest printed camouflage), Italy (Laboratorio di mascheramento, established in 1917), Belgium and Russia. The word camouflage first entered the English language in 1917. Camouflage added to helmets was unofficially popular, but these were not mass-produced until the Germans began in 1916 to issue Stahlhelm (steel helmets) in green, brown, or ochre. Mass-produced patterned, reversible, cloth covers were also issued shortly before the end of the war. Net covering was also examined, either fitted with natural vegetation or with coloured fabric strips called scrim. Specialist troops, notably snipers, could be supplied with various items of camouflage, including patterned veils for the head and gun, hand-painted overalls and scrim-covered netting or sacking—an adaptation of the rag camouflage used in Scotland by anti-poaching wardens, gillies, the first ghillie suits.

World War I Stahlhelm with camouflage pattern applied in the field

The Interwar period

The first mass-produced military camouflage material was the Italian telo mimetico ("mimetic cloth") pattern of 1929, used to cover a shelter-half (telo tenda), an idea copied by the Germans in 1931 but with her own camouflage history, beginning in 1918 with the German Buntfarbenanstrich. The Red Army issued "amoeba" disruptive- pattern suits to snipers from 1937 and all-white ZMK top-garments the following year, but it was not until hostilities began that more patterns were used.

World War II

Germany

		The Germans had experimented before the war, and some army units used "splinter" pattern camouflage. Waffen-SS combat units experimented from 1935 with various patterns. The initial, and much other, Waffen-SS camouflage was designed by Prof. Johann Georg Otto Schick. Platanenmuster – "plane-tree pattern" (1937 - 1942) – spring/summer- and autumn/winter variations Rauchtarnmuster – "blurred edge" (1939 - 1944) – spring/summer- and autumn/winter variations Palmenmuster – "palm pattern" (ca. 1941 –  ?) – summer/autumn variations Beringtes Eichenlaubmuster – "oak leaf B" (1942 bis 1945) Eichenlaubmuster – "oak leaf A" (1943 - 1945) – spring/summer- and autumn/winter variations Erbsenmuster – "pea pattern" (1944 - 1945) – spring/summer- and autumn/winter variations Leibermuster (1945) and also telo mimetico ("mimetic cloth"), using fabric seized from the Italians in 1943 (the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler often wore this pattern).
German Military tent camouflage from 1931	The SS-plane-tree pattern (autumn variation)

The Sumpfmuster ("swamp pattern") is a Wehrmacht camouflage and was first introduced in 1943. Another variation was introduced in 1944.
Apart from "Leibermuster", the official names of the wartime German camouflage patterns are not known: the names above are those used by military historians and collectors.

United Kingdom WWII

Developed in the 1930s, khaki Battle Dress was issued widely from 1939. With the return of war, camouflage sections were revived. The British set up the Camouflage Development and Training Centre in 1940 at Farnham Castle, Surrey. Early staff included artists from the Industrial Camouflage Research Unit such as Roland Penrose and Frederick Gore, and the stage magician Jasper Maskelyne (later famous for his camouflage work in the North African campaign). The British did not use disruptive-pattern uniforms until 1942, with the hand-painted Denison smock for paratroopers, followed in 1943 with a similar style M42 garment.

United States

July 1944, U.S. soldier wearing a two-piece herringbone twill (HBT) camouflage which was used by marines in the Pacific, but was quickly abandoned in the European theater because of the similarity to the uniform of the Waffen SS The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began wide-ranging experiments in 1940, but little official notice was taken until 1942 when General Douglas MacArthur demanded 150,000 jungle camouflage uniforms. A 1940 design, dubbed "frog-skin" or "leopard spot", was chosen and issued as a reversible beach/jungle coverall — soon changed to a two-part jacket and trousers. It was first issued to the U.S. Marines fighting on the Solomon Islands and worn by Marine Raiders and Paramarine units as well as by many regular Marine units in the Battle of Tarawa. Battlefield experience showed that pattern was unsuitable for moving troops, and production was halted in 1944 with a return to standard single-tone uniforms.

During 1944, specialized units of the 2nd Armored Division serving in Normandy were issued with "frog skin"/"leopard spot" camouflage pattern uniforms, but an apparent similarity to the battledress worn by Waffen SS troops in the theatre led to some friendly fire incidents, and it was withdrawn. Full "leopard spot" uniforms continued to be worn by the USMC Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion (whose role was reprised by the USMC Force Recon units from 1954) and by Combat Swimmer Reconnaissance Units (later to evolve into the Navy SEALs).

Postwar

United Kingdom pw

Battledress continued in use until the late 1950’s. While serving during the Korean War (1950-53), troops had found the existing combat uniform inadequate: It was too hot in the summertime, and not warm enough during the harsh Korean winters. Soldiers were at first issued Jungle Green (JG) uniforms for hot weather, and battledress in the wintertime, but this had to be augmented with additional warm clothing (often from the U.S. Army) as well as caps with ear flaps and fur linings. A solution was rapidly pursued, and towards the end of the Korean War a windproof and water-repellent gabardine combat uniform was issued. The trousers followed the tried and tested battledress design, while the bush jacket had several pockets inside and out, closing with zips and buttons, a hip length skirt with draw-strings to keep out the wind, and a similar arrangement at the waist. The uniform was produced in a greyish green colour (OG), similar to the U.S. Army Olive Drab (OD).
With the end of National Service conscription in 1961, the Army looked for a new uniform: Something that was smarter than battledress, but also more comfortable, while still having a military air about it. Using the Korean War combat clothing as a basis, various new items of field wear were developed for the 1960-pattern Combat Dress, including the so-called Canadian pattern combat jacket, which was well made, with a lining above the waist and reinforced elbows. The 1960s was a period of transition for the Army, and this was reflected in the changes that were taking place in soldier’s uniform.

Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM)

The new, smaller, all-volunteer Army could also now afford to equip every soldier with his own camouflaged uniform, and a pattern, based on the brushstroke design of the Denison Smock, was designed in 1960, called Disruptive Pattern (DP). The camouflage is more commonly known by the name given to the cloth printed with the pattern: Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM). By the late sixties it was being issued in limited quantities on 1960-pattern jackets and trousers, making Britain the first country in the world to issue regular troops with a standard camouflaged combat uniform. Known as ‘66-Pattern, it was soon superseded by the ’68-Pattern, which had a very slightly revised camouflage design on a new uniform, featuring minor changes over the preceding 1960/66-Pattern kit, most notably: a full lining for jacket and trousers. DPM became official army- wide issue only in 1972.
Various redesigns of the uniform since 1984 have seen changes to the size of the pattern and the tone of the colours, but DPM is always easily recognisable, and remains effective. Many countries worldwide use it, or a variation of it.

The Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) is a camouflage pattern used by British forces as well many other armies worldwide, particularly in former colonies. Direct copies or variations of DPM have been used by Canada, Jordan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, to name but a few.
The main variant is a four-colour woodland pattern with sand, green, brown and black, there is also a two-colour desert variant in tan and brown.
It is not to be confused with the Australian Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform (DPCU).

The British army had used a disruptive pattern material for the famous Denison Smock issued to parachute troops from the early 1940s. The first examples of this design were hand-painted.

A general issue British DPM was developed in the 1960s, and in 1966 the Army introduced for the first time a camouflage field uniform, the Smock, combat, 1966 Pattern and Trousers, combat, 1966 Pattern. These replaced the plain olive green 1960 Pattern Smock and Trousers which had replaced the Second World War-era khaki Battledress. In doing this the British army was the first to adopt a camouflage uniform universally.

The 1966 pattern DPM design used the four basic western European temperate colours of black, dark brown, mid-green and a dark sand to make a very effective camouflage that has survived in its basic design, with slight changes to the colours, until current times.

Before the 1966 Pattern equipment had reached all units a slightly revised design of garments and DPM fabric were introduced in 1968 as the 1968 Pattern range. A Hood, combat, DPM, was added to the range, fastened as required to the back of the Smock with three buttons.

The 1966 Pattern DPM fabric was changed very little for the 1968 issue, though it seems that some 1968 Pattern garments, notably trousers, were made in the 1966 Pattern fabric.

The pattern changes slightly with subsequent issues; 1984 Pattern has fewer dots and the brown is much darker, 1990 and later has a band of new shapes and is smaller, 1994 has an orangey colour instead of a tan. DPM items in the Combat Soldier 95 (CS95) clothing system have similar colours to the 1966 uniform.

Although slight changes have been made to DPM and the colours, the pattern is easy to recognise. There are also jungle versions of DPM where the colours are brighter, on one variation the tan is darker than the green. Desert DPM is only two shades because a four-colour desert version was used by some Middle Eastern countries, notably Iraq.

From 1990 a system of Personal Load Carrying Equipment (PLCE) has been used, initially produced in olive green . The olive type was quickly replaced in production by a DPM version, and now almost all British issue webbing and rucksacks are DPM.

Issued DPM equipment is IRR (Infra-red Reflective) coated. This coating has a specific reflective wavelength in order to blend in with natural colours in the infra-red light spectrum. This reduces the visibility of soldiers to night vision devices, which detect infra-red light, as trees and other green plants reflect deep red and infra-red light (the Wood effect).

United States pw

U.S. Woodland camouflage

Another, four colour U.S. pattern, designed in 1948 by the Engineer Research & Development Laboratory (ERDL) based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was later revisited for use in the Vietnam War. Named ERDL Leaf pattern, it was first issued to elite reconnaissance and special operations units in early 1967. It was initially produced in a lime dominant colourway, consisting of large organic shapes in mid green and brown, black ‘branches’, and light green ‘leaf highlights’. Shortly thereafter a brown dominant scheme (with the light green replaced by light tan) was manufactured. The two patterns are also known as ‘Lowland’ and ‘Highland’ ERDL respectively. The brown ‘Highland’ version was adopted as standard issue by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) from 1968, and later introduced on a wide scale in Southeast Asia by the U.S. Army, so that by the end of the Vietnam War American troops wearing camouflage combat dress had become the norm. Following the withdrawal of the U.S. Army from the Southeast Asian Theatre in 1973, camouflage clothing was no longer routinely issued in that arm though the 1st Battalion 13th Infantry Regiment in Baumholder, Germany wore the Lowland ERDL in the early 1970s as an experiment. The USMC continued wearing a transitional ‘Delta’ ERDL pattern that was issued in the mid-1970's. It was not until 1981 that the U.S. Quartermaster Dept. approved another camouflaged uniform with the fielding, from September (not officially introduced until 01 October, however), of the battle dress uniform (BDU) in M81 Woodland pattern. Although based on the Vietnam era brown dominant ERDL Leaf camouflage, but enlarged (by 60%), and with the thicker black ‘shadows’ of the ‘Delta’ variant, the pattern was designed primarily for use in Europe. For the next two decades, this was the standard issue BDU for all arms of the U.S. military. Solid olive drab uniforms were rapidly phased out, such that by the time of Operation Urgent Fury in 1983, all participating units were clothed in M81 BDUs.

U.S. Desert camouflage

The formation of the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in 1979, with its remit to operate in the Middle East, and protect U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf region, saw the issue of the first U.S. desert camouflage clothing, a six colour Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU), that had been originally designed in 1962. With a base pattern of light tan overlaid with broad swathes of pale olive green and wide two-tone bands of brown, the clusters of black-on-white spots scattered over it resulted in it being nicknamed the "chocolate chip" pattern. It was worn by U.S. troops taking part in the biennial Bright Star exercises in Egypt during the 1980s, and by FORSCOM peacekeepers in the Egyptian Sinai. Feedback from these users indicated that the design contrasted too much with the terrain. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the dark areas of the pattern warmed up more than the paler parts under desert sunlight, and retained the heat longer. The six colours were also more expensive to manufacture than three or four colours, and so the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center began the search for a substitute. Samples of sand and earth from the Middle East were measured for optical and infrared reflectance, and seven trial patterns were created using these statistics. The patterns were evaluated in fourteen different desert locations and narrowed down to one favourite. The resulting "Desert Camouflage Pattern: Combat" was standardized in 1990, but was not ready before troops deployed to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War of 1990-1991. Consequently U.S. forces wore the six colour DBDUs during the campaign. An initial batch of desert BDUs in the new scheme was enroute to the Middle East when hostilities ceased. The pattern, officially issued with the new Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU) in 1993, consisted of a subtle blend of large pastel green and light tan shapes, with sparsely placed, narrow, reddish brown patches, leading the design to be unofficially nicknamed the “Coffee Stain” pattern. This remained in service for over a decade, most notably during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Currently this pattern is being replaced by various digital pixel patterns.

The "chocolate-chip" desert camouflage pattern.

Digital camouflage

Digital camouflage is a pattern devised by utilizing small micropatterns, as opposed to larger macropatterns for effective disruption. From 1978 to the early 1980s, the American 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment stationed in Europe used a digital camouflage pattern (dual-tex) on its vehicles. During 1979 and 1980, the Australian Army experimented with digital camouflage (dual-tex) on helicopters. More recently, battledress in digital camouflage patterns has been adopted by the Canadian Forces (CADPAT), the United States Marine Corps (MARPAT), United States Army (Universal Camouflage Pattern), the Italian Army (Vegetato) and much of the military of Jordan. The South Korean Army recently, possibly around August 2006, adopted a digital camouflage pattern that is somewhat similar to the USMC's MARPAT — it is currently being supplied to the Army Special Warfare Command units. The Finnish Defence Forces introduced the digital M05 camouflage in 2007. The Chinese People's Liberation Army introduced the digital Type 07 camouflage in mid-2007. The German and Danish armies today use camouflage that involves dots instead of patterns (flecktarn). This type of camouflage is especially effective in woodlands or jungle areas.

The CADPAT is an example of digital camouflage pattern

Vehicle camouflage

The purpose of vehicle and equipment camouflage differs from personal camouflage in that the primary threat is aerial reconnaissance, like fighter or reconnaissance planes or satellites. The most important task is to cover the characteristic shape of the vehicle that stands out from the air. Draping a camouflage net over the vehicle is not enough for this: poles or tree branches are added under the net to conceal the characteristic rectangular shape.

A vehicle with camouflage.

Ship camouflage

Until the 20th century, naval weapons had a very short range, so camouflage was unimportant for ships; the men on board them had no need for camouflage, of course. Paint schemes were selected on the basis of ease of maintenance or esthetics, typically buff upperworks (with polished brass fittings) and white or black hulls. At the turn of the century the increasing range of naval engagements, as demonstrated by the Battle of Tsushima, prompted the introduction of the first camouflage, in the form of some solid shade of gray overall, in the hope that ships would fade into the mist.

A World War I Q-ship disguised by dazzle camouflage

Early in the First World War, the unexpected effectiveness of submarines led combatant navies to try to confuse the submarines with dazzle camouflage on many ships. This was meant to break up the ship's appearance so that its identity, range and heading could not be easily determined, therefore the submarine would not be able to get into a good firing position. A related scheme was the painting of false waves on a ship's bow so that its speed would be overestimated.

In 1940 the United States Navy introduced several camouflage measures designed for a wide variety of ships and situations.

• Measure 1 was dark gray overall except for white structures above bridge level.

• Measure 2 was dark gray on the hull and light gray on the superstructure and turrets.

• Measure 4 was black overall. This was intended for night operations but it was found that even on very dark nights, black ships were more noticeable than gray ones.

• Measure 5 was a false bow wave.

• Measures 7 and 8 were used to make cruisers resemble destroyers.

• Measure 11 was sea blue overall, including the decks. It was used in the Pacific and Mediterranean to hide from aircraft.

• Measure 12 was navy blue or dark gray low on the hull, ocean gray at about the main deck level, and haze gray or pale gray above that. The boundaries between the different colors were irregular.

• Measure 13 was haze gray overall. This was found to provide reasonable protection in the widest range of conditions, and became the standard paint scheme after the war.

• Measure 14 was ocean gray overall. This was widely used on supply ships.

• Measure 16 was white with large polygonal patches of light sea blue. This was very suitable for the North Atlantic.

• Measure 21 was navy blue overall, including the decks. This largely replaced measure 11.

• Measure 22 was navy blue low on the hull, with haze gray above that. This was the single most popular measure since it made range estimation very difficult.

• Measure 31 was an army-style pattern of greens, browns and grays used by smaller ships like landing craft and PT boats that operated close to shore.

• Measure 32 was a mixture of polygons in navy blue, various grays and greens.

• Measure 33 was a mixture of polygons in various grays and lighter greens. This was very suitable for northern waters.

Except in measures 11 and 21, decks were a blue gray shade.

	Between the wars, British naval ships were generally dark gray in northern waters, and light gray in the Mediterranean or tropical waters. In the first year of the war British captains largely painted their ships as they saw fit. As the war continued, the Admiralty introduced various standardized camouflage schemes.
A Royal Norwegian Navy craft, in a splinter camouflage pattern

• Western Approaches Scheme was white with large polygonal patches of light sea blue or light sea green. This was very suitable for the North Atlantic.

• Mountbatten pink was invented by Captain Louis Mountbatten. Its effectiveness was much disputed.

• Admiralty Disruptive Patterns were a wide range of patterns in blues, grays and greens with mottled boundaries between the various colour patches.

• Admiralty Standard Schemes were light gray overall, except for a sea blue patch low on the hull, either between the main gun turrets or the entire length of the hull. They were much like the American measure 22.

• Admiralty Alternative Scheme was a dark gray hull with light gray turrets and superstructure. It was popular in the Mediterranean.

• Home Fleet Destroyer Scheme was like the Western Approaches Scheme but used darker shades of blue and gray in the rear half of the ship.

British decks were usually dark gray.

Kriegsmarine ships before the war were either light gray overall or had dark gray hulls. Many retained this scheme during the war. Others had dazzle camouflage, usually in combinations of pale gray, dark gray and sea blue. Smaller ships were painted a very pale gray to blend in with the mists of northern European waters. Larger ships often had their bows and sterns painted a different shade from the rest of the hull. German decks were a very dark gray.

Mussolini's navy retained its pre-war scheme of light gray overall for its smaller ships, but the larger units mostly had dazzle camouflage of dark gray, light sea blue, light sea green and light gray. Italian foredecks had a high- visibility pattern of red and white diagonal stripes so that their own aircraft would not attack them.

Japanese ships largely retained their pre-war dark gray paint scheme, although some major units like aircraft carriers changed to a dark sea green. Some aircraft carriers had their flight decks painted in a dazzle camouflage, but this seems to have been ineffective.

Soviet ships were dark gray overall, sometimes with medium gray upperworks.

The French Navy used light gray before the war and under the Vichy regime. Free French ships that operated with the British adopted one of the British schemes. Those that were refitted in American shipyards were usually repainted in the American measure 22.

After the Second World War, the universal adoption of radar made camouflage much less effective.

Aircraft camouflage

The design of camouflage for aircraft is complicated by the fact that the appearance of the aircraft's background varies widely, depending on the location of the observer (above or below) and the nature of the background. For this reason, many military aircraft are painted light blue below (to match the sky), but blotchy, darker colours above (to match the ground). The higher speeds of modern aircraft, and the reliance on radar and missiles to defend against them, have reduced the value of visual camouflage, while increasing the value of electronic camouflage ("stealth") measures.

A Ukrainian Su-25 painted with earth colours on the top and sky colour on the bottom

Military camouflage in fashion and art

The transfer of camouflage patterns from battle to exclusively civilian uses is not a recent phenomenon. The first military camouflage was used by the French on their trucks and automobiles (the only military vehicles of the day) and within three weeks of the German invasion of France in 1914, the couturiers of Paris, having observed them, had turned those abstract patterns into women's clothing. It symbolized modernity to them, the first industrial war. Ironically, this means that it was used for civilian clothing long before it was used for uniforms. Dazzle camouflage also inspired a trend of dazzlesque patterns used on clothing in England, in 1919 Chelsea Arts Club held a "Dazzle Ball", those attending wore disruptively patterned black and white clothing. The earliest camouflage artists were members of the Post- Impressionist and Fauve schools of France. The camouflage experts were, for the most part, painters like Forain, Camoin, Villon and Marcoussis, sculptors like Boucher and Despiau, and theatre set artists. Camouflage schemes of the First World War and Interwar periods that employed disruptive patterns were often described as "cubist" by commentators, and Picasso is even said to have claimed "We invented that (camouflage) ". Despite this, there is little evidence that the cubists themselves were employed as camoufleurs.

While many hundreds of artists were involved in the development of camouflage during and since World War I, the disparate sympathies of the two cultures restrained the use of "militaristic" forms in works other than those of war artists. Since the 1960s, however, artists have seized upon camouflage as a means to twist and subvert it away from its military origins and symbolism. The concept of camouflage - to conceal and distort shapes - is also a popular artistic tool.

Artists using camouflage include:

• Andy Warhol (notably his 1986 camouflage series, his last major work)

• Alain Jacquet (extraordinarily prolific in camouflage works from 1961 into the 1970s)

• Ian Hamilton Finlay, Vera von Lehndorff (aka Veruschka) and Holger Trülzsch ("Nature, Signs & Animals", "Mimicry- Dress-Art", all 1970-73)

• Thomas Hirschhorn (Utopia : One World, One War, One Army, One Dress, 2005).

Camouflage garments had a similarly hesitant adoption, although military styling has a long history of civilian use. Military patterns initially found civilian markets amongst hunters and, through military surplus, in those seeking clothing that was tough, well-made, and cheap in the United States and other countries. The steady output from countries using a national service model was influential, and several countries (initially the 'winning' sides of World War II, where there was less negative connection with military-wear) became significant markets. In the United States in the 1960s, military clothing became increasingly common (mostly olive drab rather than patterned camouflage); interestingly, it was often found worn by anti-war protestors, initially within groups such as Vietnam Veterans Against the War but then increasingly widely as a symbol of political protest. In the years after the Vietnam War, camouflage military clothing became very popular among many people, replacing olive-drab military clothing.

The "rebellious" links of civilian camouflage diminished through the 1970s and beyond as more mainstream groups adopted a style seen as youthful and anti-establishment. Fashion has since become increasingly eager to adopt camouflage - attracted by the striking designs, the "patterned disorder" of camouflage, its symbolism (to be celebrated or subverted [vide its use by Hello Kitty]), and its versatility. Early designers include Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (1975-), Roland Chakal (1970), Stephen Sprouse (using Warhol prints, 1987-1988), and Franco Moschino (1986), but it was not until the 1990s that camouflage became a significant and widespread facet of dress from streetwear to high-fashion labels - especially the use of "faux-camouflage". Producers using camouflage in the 1990s and beyond include: John Galliano for Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, Comme des Garçons, Chanel, Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana, Issey Miyake, Armani, Yves Saint-Laurent, and others.

Certain companies have become very closely associated with camouflage patterns (such as Maharishi and mhi, Zoo York, Addict, 6876, A Bathing Ape, Stone Island, and Girbaud), using and overprinting genuine military surplus fabric, and have also extended the patterns by creating their own designs or integrating camouflage patterns with other symbols. The use of original patterns in new (often bright) colours is also common.

Some countries such as Barbados, Aruba, and other Caribbean nations have strict laws that prohibit camouflage clothing from being worn by non-military personnel, including tourists and children. These laws may be motivated by the fear that a tourist might be mistaken by government troops for insurgents, or vice versa, and fired upon.

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