Bryceland’s & Co. is a menswear brand and retail concept founded in 2015 in Tokyo by Australian Ethan Newton and Hong Kong–based Kenji Cheung — two deep menswear obsessives who met while Newton was working at The Armoury Hong Kong and who share a vision of men’s clothing that is simultaneously classical, rugged, and genuinely worn-in. The name comes from Newton’s mother’s Irish–Scottish–Tasmanian family line: a convict named Catherine Bryceland was transported from Glasgow to Tasmania in 1851. The brand operates stores in Tokyo (original), Hong Kong (2017), and London’s Marylebone (2023), and is regarded as one of the most influential independent menswear stores and labels in the world — a benchmark for what is sometimes called the “high-low” approach to masculine dressing.
Key Facts
- Founded: 2015
- Founders: Ethan Newton (Australian, ex-Evisu, ex-The Armoury HK) and Kenji Cheung (Hong Kong)
- Stores: Tokyo (Harajuku); Hong Kong (Luk Yu Building); London (Marylebone, opened 2023)
- Industry: Menswear, Custom Tailoring, Haberdashery
History and Background
Newton grew up in Australia buying vintage military jackets and taking them apart to reconstruct them. He studied fashion design with a focus on tailoring, then moved to Tokyo at 19 — where a chance meeting with Evisu founder Hidehiko Yamane led to a job that introduced him to Japanese denim reproduction culture. He later worked at The Armoury Hong Kong, building deep knowledge of Italian and English bespoke makers before feeling the urge to create something of his own. He met Cheung at the Armoury and together they conceived Bryceland’s: “Western in form and Japanese in philosophy,” as Newton puts it. Their opening in Tokyo was specifically advised by Japanese industry friends who felt the market needed “new personalities that could provide a product of classicism and masculinity.”
The brand’s philosophy is “Sampoyoshi” — a Japanese merchant concept that all three sides of a transaction (maker, retailer, and customer) should be treated fairly and left able to continue. Newton and Cheung are avowed vintage collectors; the brand’s multiple house labels reflect different pockets of their shared obsession: Cowboy Label (1940s–50s American western), Black Bean (Northeastern US sporting and outdoor culture, inspired by L.L. Bean catalogues), Bryce-Down (1960s–70s Pacific Northwest outerwear), and others. The London opening in 2023 was the first Western Hemisphere location and delivered the brand’s largest available size range to date.
Aesthetic
Bryceland’s aesthetic is confident, masculine, and built around the conviction that clothing should improve with wear. Classic tailoring (wide lapels, relaxed shoulders, generous proportions), workwear, vintage military, denim, and artisanal accessories co-exist without hierarchy. Silk rayon shirts from the 1950s alongside bespoke suiting. Gurkha shorts and army chinos alongside cashmere. Newton has described the aspiration as “the swagger immortalised by men like Marlon Brando, Fred Astaire, and Jimmy Stewart” — studied elegance worn without affectation.
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