This article is a repost of an article I had previously published on UIUC’s “The Fashion Network” Substack.

Do any of you remember that photo of Paris Hilton in an “anti-paparazzi” scarf that went viral on the internet a few years back? It looks a little something like this:

Photo of Paris Hilton wearing a patterned scarf Image Source: Snopes, who got it from @lohanisgod on Twitter/X

At first, the scarf looks like any random scarf from the 2010s, with bright colors and bold patterns— but its true nature is revealed once the photographer takes her picture with flash. The patterns reveal a reflective material and obscure her face in darkness (basically ruining the picture for anyone wanting to sell it); as such, the scarf was famously named the “anti-paparazzi” scarf by the internet.

As separated as the paparazzi are from our normal day-to-day lives, the thought of constant surveillance is not that far from our lived reality, from the use of facial recognition technologies by the police, to the scraping of our textual and visual data to train generative AI without our consent. While most of us can’t really afford a $2,000 anti-paparazzi scarf (nor would I want or need to buy one), we still see countless ways that fashion serves as both political commentary, and functional disruption– which brings us to this idea of adversarial fashion.

What is Adversarial Fashion?#

Adversarial fashion is broadly defined as clothing (or makeup) that is designed to disrupt computer surveillance systems, such as facial recognition software. This is usually achieved by using fabrics to provide cameras with junk data, or other misleading visuals to trip up its detection software, through the use of strategies such as:

  • Incorporating strategically-placed images on textiles so that the software detects other images aside from the face
  • Wearing makeup that incorporates colors and shapes and distort the detection of facial features

Designers, artistic activists, and countless others are actively experimenting with bold designs and textile production techniques as both expressive artform, and artistic disruption. Examples of past and present adversarial designs look a little something like these photos:

  1. Dazzle Camouflage

Three activists wearing geometric face-paint, called “razzle dazzle Image Source: The Guardian, “Hiding in Plain Sight: activists don camouflage to beat Met surveillance

Dazzle camouflage (AKA: the ol “razzle dazzle”) were first introduced in the early 1900s by Norman Wilkinson—volunteer reserve lieutenant, a poster designer, and seascape painter— and were originally used by British Navy ships during WWI to distort the enemy’s sight of the ship. The patterns would effectively obfuscate the model of the ship and its distance, but by WWII, advancements in rangefinders gradually made dazzle impractical and obsolete.

Dazzle camouflage has since found new life as “CV dazzle”, a term coined by artist Adam Harvey. “CV”, or computer vision dazzle, is a type of makeup camouflage that places light and dark colors on parts of the face using bold geometric shapes, which are used to confuse facial recognition software. The picture above is a perfect example of what this type of dazzle looks like in use: in this case, a group of activists called the “Dazzle Club” are utilizing CV dazzle to protest the use of facial recognition technologies by the metropolitan police in London.

While CV dazzle may not always be the most effective in obfuscating facial features– given the evolution of computer vision and AI models these past few years– its history, evolution, and artistry still serves as a pointed visual protest against surveillance.

  1. Jackets with license plates and junk data (Adversarial Fashion - the brand)

Man wearing a black and white bomber jacket with license plate patterns Image Source: A jacket from Adversarial Fashion’s website

Another example of fashion that subverts technological surveillance are the bomber jackets produced by the brand, Adversarial Fashion. At first glance, the jacket simply looks like a black and white patterned jacket— but when taking a closer look, you’ll see that the jacket is entirely covered in license plates. This jacket is no longer just an ordinary piece of clothing— once you understand how Automated License Plate Readers work.

Automated License Plate Readers, or ALPRs, are often found on street poles, lights, overpasses, and everywhere else on the street. The ALPRs are often used by police to capture all license plates within its view, including location, date, time, and photographs of the vehicle; this proves to be problematic because through data aggregation, “ALPR data can paint an intimate portrait of a driver’s life and even chill First Amendment protected activity” (source: Electronic Frontier Foundation). The bomber jacket designed by Adversarial Fashion is designed to trigger ALPR systems with license plate images, and flood the system with useless plate detections so that the database becomes diluted with irrelevant data.

What’s cool is that even though the brand sells jackets and masks, it also provides textile design resources on its website for designers looking to pursue adversarial projects. You can find the resources here.

Adversarial Fashion’s Importance– Beyond its functionality#

Adversarial fashion is a unique form of defense, self-advocacy, and an artistic medium that continues to subvert technology in the fight against surveillance. Much of its appeal is in its ability to exploit surveillance technologies, but it’s uncertain how well these designs’ disruptive features will stand the test of time.

I warn that valuing this artform purely on its functionality may minimize the statements its designers intend to make: that the computer systems, algorithms, and models that police us are not infallible. Adversarial fashion is a political statement in its physical visibility (and virtual “invisibility”); and a creative playground that centers people, while summoning technology as an involuntary participant in our art. The existence of these pieces not only proves tech’s fallibility, but symbolizes it as well. Time can only tell how this genre of fashion evolves and resists with us.