LETS FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE RITUAL OF THE PAINTED JACKET.
For the practical reason of identifying friendly units the practice of painting a design on the fuselage of bomber aircrafts came up in the first WW. To cope with the fear of death, the aviators also started to decorate their jackets - next to honour patches and medals - with motivating slogans, comics & pin-ups.
Motorcycle gangs, street gangs and youth gangs picked up this tradition to show that they belonged to a certain group or movement. In their multitude they started to individualize their "uniforms" to show an additional conviction or a position within the group. This evolved in an overall decorative & artistic approach within the graffiti movement.
My interest in this subject resulted in this publication that investigates the evolution of this cultural phenomenon. Which subcultures transported and developed the ritual of painting jackets throughout time, and where did it actually come from?