The Uniqueness of Uniforms

Groups competing in Drum Corps International have spent the past few years tailoring their uniforms to each season’s show while still working to maintain elements of their corps’ signature look.

- By Savy Leiser. Fotos by Martinson/Marching.com

For the past two seasons, the Bluecoats have taken the uniformity out of their uniforms; instead of having the corps members perform in identical outfits, as is tradition, almost all of the performers wore a unique costume. “Each performer [is] an individual while looking like a unified whole,” says Mike Scott, Bluecoats CEO.

The Bluecoats experimented with individual uniforms in its 2018 show, “Session 44,” which celebrated the artist within every individual, and in its 2019 Beatles-inspired show, titled “The Bluecoats.” In both years, some members wore checkered pants, some wore patterned pants, and some wore solid-colored pants. The same could be said for their tops. Performers wore each piece in a mix-and-match arrangement.

Though the Bluecoats wore mostly gray in 2018, all of the coats were blue in 2019. “Ever since 2016 when we stopped wearing a blue jacket, there’s been this meme on the internet about how the Bluecoats don’t wear blue coats,” Scott says. “We decided if we’re going to call the [2019] show ‘The Bluecoats,’ we have to play off that.”

Thus, the Bluecoats’ signature blue uniform jackets returned.

The need to maintain a solid corps identity while experimenting with creative uniform ideas is not unique to the Bluecoats. During the past few years, drum corps uniforms have been evolving to fit each year’s show rather than remaining stagnant like traditional marching uniforms.

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