American culture has long been fascinated with war…lucky for us that their regular occurrence keeps the aesthetic of combat ever in the spotlight. From the colorful regalia of The Beatle’s Sgt. Pepper album, to the black-ops look of Jay Z’s Roca Wear, pop culture has appropriated the visual elements of the conflict-du jour into our consumer environment. By co-opting the aesthetics of warfare, we are at once participating and marginalizing its impact: sometimes fear is best handled with direct confrontation. Mainstream Militant is currently depicting the aesthetics of the current conflicts in the Middle-East: desert khaki or coyote beige, digital camouflage, MOLLE attachment strips, or the all-black secret agent look. The recent popularity of military-style jackets in Fashion, and even the resurgence of Aviator-style sunglasses owes much to this trend. While not for every target customer or product category, and certainly requiring the right brand-synergy to pull off, this aesthetic caters to those in the market who want to rise above the sea of overtly-friendly or generic product offerings. Sometimes people just want a hint of bad-ass-ness in their lives, and nothing offers that better than a pair of bullet-casing ear buds, or a gigantic Hummer sitting in your driveway next to your Honda Odyssey.
MAINSTREAM MILITANT
I see how these all are coming together, but a question for you. Why is the yacht boat included in this military trend? It is all white and smooth, doesn’t seem to fit the rest all black and blocky. just wondering?
Great question, General. You are correct about most of these examples being chunky, matte black objects, while the Yacht A is sleek, white, and sophisticated. The yacht was designed by Francis Martin and Philipe Starck, and specific inspirations include old German U-boats. So even though it has a modern glossy exterior, the underlying proportions (knife-edged, low-slung bow, vertical conning tower at mid-ships) is very Modern Militant.
-AWOL Trends