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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Lifestyle
Isabel Slone

Hiding in plain sight: Americans’ obsession with camouflage is a sign of paranoid times

side by side images - on the left, harris-walz hats with camouflage print; on the right, drake in camouflage pants
Hunting camo is popping up everywhere. Photograph: Getty Images

It’s become an inescapable pop culture touchstone. A pattern of crispy brown leaves interspersed with twigs and moss darting around like advancing thickets, peeking out from underneath jackets, plastered on oversize pants and trucker hats.

Hunting camouflage, a tactical pattern designed to resemble forest undergrowth to disguise hunters during deer season, is seen everywhere from Chappell Roan’s Midwestern Princess hat (and its ill-fated Harris-Walz dupe), to Lana Del Rey’s gator-wrangling husband, to Sweetgreen’s kale-themed camo merchandise, to lacy thong underwear sold by Bass Pro Shops that promises “a look that’s as thrilling as the hunt itself”.

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