Crye Precision was founded in New York City in 1999 by Caleb Crye and Gregg Thompson, both graduates of Cooper Union, a Manhattan art and engineering school. What began as a spare-time design venture in a Chelsea Market studio has grown into one of the world's most influential military equipment manufacturers. The company is most famous for inventing MultiCam, a new design of camouflage, released in 2004, though MultiCam was designed for the use of the U.S. Army in varied environments, seasons, elevations, and light conditions, as a seven-colour, multi-environment camouflage pattern developed by Crye Precision in conjunction with the United States Army Soldier Systems Center.
For generations, military camouflage was environment-specific. The previous camouflage hadn't been updated since the Vietnam War era, featured darker greens and browns to blend into the jungle, and the old design stuck out in the sandy terrain of Iraq and Afghanistan. When American forces deployed to Afghanistan after 2001, existing patterns performed poorly across the region's varied landscape. In 2010, U.S. soldiers deployed to Afghanistan were issued MultiCam versions of the Army Combat Uniform, as the existing Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) was found to be inadequate for the terrain, under the designation Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern (OEF-CP).
The design's sophistication lies in its layering. MultiCam has a background of a brown to light tan gradient, overprinted with a dark green, olive green, and lime green gradient and a top layer of opaque dark brown and cream-coloured shapes spread throughout the pattern, which allows for the overall appearance to change from predominantly green to predominantly brown in different areas of the fabric, while having smaller shapes to break up the larger background areas. This adaptive approach proved far more effective than earlier patterns in diverse environments.
From the Middle East, the pattern's global adoption is striking. Countries like the USA, UK, Australia, Poland, Georgia, and Romania have incorporated MultiCam into their military and special forces, and it has seen extensive use in Ukraine's ongoing conflict, proving its worth in varied terrain. In June 2020, the Royal Marines announced the adoption of a new uniform made by Crye which uses the original MultiCam pattern. The pattern has achieved what most military innovations cannot: near-universal adoption across competing geopolitical interests.
Yet the story extends well beyond barracks. MultiCam is available for commercial sale to civilians, and fashion has embraced it enthusiastically. Camo is increasingly more about visual identity than it is about concealment. From street wear to luxury designers, streetwear brands have embraced camouflage as a staple, incorporating it into everything from oversized hoodies to jogger pants, and the pattern's rugged and rebellious vibe has made it a favourite among urban fashion enthusiasts. The original Wired report notes the pattern has reached unlikely markets, from infant clothing to law enforcement agencies outside the military context.
This crossover represents a peculiar moment in design history. Military engineering, born from necessity in conflict, has become a consumer aesthetic. Two designers who began their careers asking how to better protect soldiers have inadvertently shaped how civilians choose to dress. The company has been so innovative in meeting the needs of the troops, particularly the special operators, that Crye has been called "the Steve Jobs of tactical gear". Whether that comparison holds true may depend on whether innovation measured in lives saved translates to innovation measured in cultural influence. In the case of MultiCam, it appears it does.