INTERVIEW: The story behind Arc'teryx LEAF's Wolf Urban Grey

Some people just specify the color tone. Our friends from SOLDIER SYSTEMS had an exclusive interview with Kavan Cronin. He is a professional color designer for Arc’teryx LEAF and the man who brought more grey into your everyday life. Cronin is the color designer behind the development of the color "Wolf Urban Grey."

SSD: Who are you and what is your role at Arc’teryx?

Cronin: My name is Kavan. I am a color designer at Arc’teryx and have been working in this department for ten years.

SSD: During this time, you will see many colors come and go. Can you explain why Arc’teryx has a special department for color design? This is not common in the industry, right?

Cronin: No, that is unusual. But it makes a big difference for the brand. Our team is dedicated to coloring all Arc’teryx products, including LEAF. This gives us a high level of control down to the smallest detail.

Our team consists of color designers, color management, and quality control. The color administrators work with our material suppliers and manage the shipment and receipt of lab dips. They also maintain our extensive library of color standards and lab dips, our sample room, and many of the tools that color designers use regularly.

Every uniquely colored fabric passes through the hands of our color quality control specialists. They are responsible for measuring all lab dips and sample cuttings, as well as maintaining the measurement database. They help identify trends, how the colors differ during the lab dyeing process from the standards, and how different materials absorb dyes. The designers work closely with them to make informed decisions.

“As color designers, we stand behind the actual coloring of the products. We ensure that the needs of the end consumers are met in terms of color for every product.”

As color designers, we stand behind the actual coloring of the products. We work closely with our product designers to understand their visions and intentions as we go through our color palette development process to ensure that we are connected to a strong story. We also integrate the expertise of our product line managers to ensure that the end consumer needs of each product are met and that the message behind each collection is coherent and effective.

Our approach to inspiration, how it is found and translated into a color palette, has evolved over the years. Lately, we have been engaging with global and macro trends that we find inspiring or impactful, looking at them as a group and selecting those we believe have the strongest inspirational stories for each season. They can be rooted in anything, from nature to technology to graffiti art.

SSD: How does the department work with the LEAF line, where there are not many color differences as in the civilian sector?

Cronin: You'll be surprised: LEAF may have a very obvious color palette on the surface, but there is a story behind each hue! LEAF color requirements are very specific, typically defined by constant communication between the LEAF development team and our established network of end users and their requirements.

Wolf has an interesting background. The briefing originally given to me referred to external studies stating that a dark, neutral grey is more likely to blend into the background in low light conditions than black. The idea was to use this knowledge to identify the ideal grey for a new, uniform program for specialized LE teams. However, since these uniforms should not always be used in the dark, we did not want the uniforms to be too dark or grey. They needed to blend into the urban environment under different light conditions. Taking all these factors into consideration, I spent some time personally exploring the city (in my case Vancouver) and observing the different grey tones of streets, buildings, concrete walls, etc. This was supplemented by reviewing countless images from other major cities around the world. I was able to narrow it down to four shades that we then reviewed as a group to find the best option. This was the birth of (Urban) Wolf. Wolf then became widespread in the industry, it was an exciting color development that we could participate in.

SSD: Croc is another color that represents the LEAF line. What is the story behind this coloration?

Cronin: Crocodile was born at a time when camouflage patterns were the norm, but no single pattern on the global market fit. Multicam existed, but there were many discussions about its use compared to the traditional US ARMY UCP. Not to mention that all camouflage patterns are licensed and printed by third parties, resulting in much higher material costs than using a solid color. For our LEAF clothing, choosing a solid color was the best option since it had to be universally adaptable.

Crocodile is based on the OD Green version of the Canadian military, which was phased out in favor of CADPAT. OD Green was a very adaptable color, but slightly too green. The color standard chosen for Crocodile was slightly browner, making it better suited for forest and mixed environments. Ranger Green existed at the time but was considered too black.

“Due to its adaptability, Crocodile has grown and become the main hue of the Arc'teryx LEAF line.”

There were discussions about changing to a different color over the years. But which color...? The market was fragmented based on what users wanted/needed, and Crocodile just kept doing the job. Due to its adaptability, Crocodile has grown and become the main hue of the Arc'teryx LEAF line. Despite the introduction of Wolf and then Ranger Green, Crocodile remains "the" color representing Arc’teryx LEAF.

SSD: Looking into the future: do you foresee any future color changes in the market?

Cronin: In 2018, we introduced Harrier Grey in our new Cold Weather SVX Parka & Bib. People asked us why we didn't produce them in white. The simple answer: white doesn't stay white for long! Harrier Grey is a perfect grey to be worn over white, allowing our end consumers more versatility for use in the environment than just white.

Thanks to Eric Graves, Soldier Systems, for the interview

To learn more about Kavan and his work, watch the profile video that is part of the video series „Who We Are“ by Arc’teryx. You can click on the video at the top of the article.

In Germany, you can get Arc’teryx LEAF at HQG.DE and at TACWRK.

ARC’TERYX LEAF on the internet: https://leaf.arcteryx.com

GREY as a military color: FIFTY SHADES OF GREY on SPARTANAT