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Looking to step up from Norse Projects? These 11 brands share the aesthetic but bring elevated materials, construction and a higher price tier — ranked by overall similarity.
Tokyo brand founded in 2003 by Eiichiro Homma, blending GORE-TEX outdoor construction with restrained, everyday sportswear and soft tailoring.
Why it's similar. Pairs waterproof technical shells with plain chinos and shirts, cutting the outerwear as ordinary everyday menswear in muted colours.
What changes. Tokyo-based and more sailing- and outdoor-derived than Nordic workwear and ivy.
Founder-led Stockholm ready-to-wear label known for custom-developed fabrics, reworked wardrobe staples and its upcycled Our Legacy Work Shop line.
Why it's similar. A Scandinavian independent built on shirts, knitwear and trousers in custom-developed fabrics, sold through the same independent shops.
What changes. More fashion-forward, with slouchy shirts, printed denim and hairy knits, and no technical outerwear.
Paris label founded in 1987 by Jean Touitou, known for raw selvedge denim, Demi-Lune bags and understated, long-lasting wardrobe basics.
Why it's similar. Serves the same buyer of plain, logo-light staples, anchored by raw selvedge jeans, plain knits and simple jackets.
What changes. Denim-first and cleaner, more Parisian in cut, with no technical outerwear.
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Munich menswear label founded in 2009, known for relaxed tailoring, overshirts and fine knitwear built around travel-inspired seasonal collections.
Why it's similar. Makes overshirts, knitwear and outerwear for the same everyday wardrobe, produced in small Bavarian factories from European cloth.
What changes. More decorative, with checked overshirts and loden coats and a craft theme instead of technical fabrics.
London label founded in 1995, making understated unisex clothing drawn from workwear, military uniforms and British music subculture.
Why it's similar. Builds on workwear and military uniform references, with chore jackets, fatigue trousers and knitwear in muted colours for logo-free dressing.
What changes. Music-subculture flavoured, looser and more directional in cut, with no technical outerwear line.
Stockholm fashion house founded in 1996 by Jonny Johansson, known for oversized tailoring, mohair knitwear, denim and the Musubi bag.
Why it's similar. A Scandinavian label sold in the same shops, with shirts, knitwear, jackets and trousers in its wardrobe.
What changes. A runway fashion house with oversized tailoring, so not a like-for-like swap for everyday staples.
British designer label making relaxed shirting, tailoring and knitwear in traditional UK fabrics, run from London since 1970 and majority-owned since 1990 by Japan's Anglobal, part of TSI Holdings.
Why it's similar. Plain British shirting, knitwear and workwear-inflected tailoring share the same quiet, muted way of dressing.
What changes. Tailoring-first and aimed at an older customer than streetwear-rooted everyday staples.
Daiki Suzuki's New York label, founded 1999 under Nepenthes, reworking American workwear and military patterns with off-kilter construction and mixed fabrics.
Why it's similar. Draws on workwear and military patterns for jackets and trousers that overlap the same utility wardrobe.
What changes. Off-kilter construction and pattern-mixing make it a louder, more eccentric look.
Tokyo technical outdoor label founded in 2011 by ex-Issey Miyake designers Keita Ikeuchi and Mihoko Mori, owned by TSI Holdings.
Why it's similar. Covers the technical side with mountain-grade outdoor jackets and gear from Tokyo.
What changes. Outdoor gear only, without the plain ivy and workwear staples to wear with it.
Independent Tokyo label by Ryota Iwai, building relaxed menswear and womenswear around custom-developed Japanese textiles and muted colour.
Why it's similar. Muted, fabric-first shirts, knitwear and trousers in the same quiet palette, a natural step up for this shopper.
What changes. Luxury-fabric led, so not a like-for-like swap for everyday workwear and outerwear.
Paris label founded by Pierre Mahéo in 2012, making understated soft tailoring and workwear-inflected wardrobe staples in European fabrics.
Why it's similar. Makes shirts, trousers and knitwear in European fabrics for the same everyday staple wardrobe.
What changes. Paris soft tailoring rather than workwear or technical outerwear.
Nanamica, Our Legacy, A.P.C. lead our ranking. Looking to step up from Norse Projects? These 11 brands share the aesthetic but bring elevated materials, construction and a higher price tier — ranked by overall similarity.
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