Camouflage clothing may be having a moment – but in our violent world, is that wise? | Ellie Violet Bramley

Some say it’s just ‘a stylish alternative to denim’, but the politics of who gets to wear military-adjacent garb is increasingly fraught

On a recent visit to Gaza, Steve Witkoff, the real estate mogul and Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, wore a “camouflage” top. I write “camouflage” in inverted commas because it was blue and, amid the dusty devastation of Gaza, there was nothing about it – or the bumbag he wore with it – that helped Witkoff blend in.

It’s an odd paradox that a pattern designed to melt military personnel into their surroundings – the word is derived from the French camoufler, “to disguise” – when worn by certain people, in certain ways, does the opposite. Witkoff being a glaring example.

Ellie Violet Bramley is a freelance writer