Item 2015.22 - Swiss Military Alpenflage Camouflage M70 Jacket

Invisible Men exhibition label:

ALPENFLAGE CAMOUFLAGE M70 UNIFORM
Maker unknown
1975-1985

Switzerland's Leibermuster Camouflage, also known as Alpenflage, was first issued in 1957. The M70 jacket and trousers feature numerous pockets designed to hold all a soldier's equipment that they must carry with them. The jacket inspired one of C.P. Company’s most popular Mille Miglia jackets. The trousers have built-in shoulder straps designed to take the weight of the equipment carried.

Cotton
Archive No. 2015.22 and 2019.104

Undercover exhibition label:

ALPENFLAGE CAMOUFLAGE M70 UNIFORM
Maker unknown
1975-1985
First issued in 1957, the M70 jacket has an adjustable hood with a concealed opening along the front edge that unbuttons to allow a camouflage net to be released to cover the face. The jacket served as the inspiration for one of C.P. Company's most popular Mille Miglia jackets.
Cotton
Archive No. 2015.22

From Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive:

M70 ALPENFLAGE JACKET
Maker unknown
1972
Historically, several countries have used the same camouflage patterns, which potentially could result in identification issues on the battlefield should those nations come into conflict with one another. Swiss Leibermuster camouflage is a variation of a pattern worn by the German Waffen SS during the Second World War. It is believed that the Swiss developed their version after acquiring original German 1940s-era roller-printing machines with the pattern. There are ten pockets on the M70 Alpenflage jacket, including five bellow pockets on the front, three on the lower back and one on the left sleeve. This feature eliminated the requirement for soldiers to carry a separate rucksack. It also inspired the Mille Miglia jacket designed by Massimo Osti for C.P. Company in 1988, replicating its fit and use of multiple pockets and functionality.
Cotton
Archive no. 2015.22