Our Story

1910
The Beginning

Claybourn was established in 1910 by Manning John Claybourn in Brisbane - the 2032 Olympic city, with a simple mission to keep Aussies warm and dry.

Apart from its brand, Claybourn was also manufacturing for RM Williams and many other fashion brands at the time before most of them outsourced their production overseas.


Picture: Manning John Claybourn

1966
King Charle’s Favorite

Over the years Claybourn has become a well-known and beloved brand amongst Australians & beyond.

A photo of Prince Charles (King Charles III )wearing a Claybourn coat was taken during his study at Geelong Grammar in Australia in 1966.

Picture: Prince Charles ( King Charles III )

1990
The Australian Coat Company

Picture: Showcase Events for Aussie Coat Company

In 1990, Tom & Christine Hanna founded The Australian Coat Company.

Tom was initially working with another well-known Australian brand in Brisbane at the time before the factory was sold to a British motorcycle company in 1989, a similar fate to most of the other clothing brands in Australia.

Saddened by the foreign ownership change, Tom was determined to start a brand that produce 100% Australian-owned and Australian-made garments, hence The Australian Coat Company was founded.

2001
Aussie Quality Canvas Goods

In 2001, Claybourn acquired Aussie Quality Canvas Goods to expand its
product line.

2004
Change Hands

The Australian Coat Company was sold to Gilbert & Beverley Trombetta in 2004.

2005

The Great Merge

In the following year, The Australian Coat Company bought Claybourn and expanded the clothing line further to include dryskins, other accessories, and pet series.

2021
Manufacturers and Fashion Brands United 

“The combined manufacturing & fashion businesses have withstood the major impacts of World War I of 1918, the Great Depression of 1927, World War II of 1939, the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, followed by the Covid-19 outbreak of 2020.”

Brisbane based Australian citizen, Peter Huang of the JHC Holdings, a top 400 private company in Queensland who also owned a resort, golf courses, property development projects, and multiple other businesses at the time, bought the combined The Australian Coat Company & Claybourn business, together with the Aussie Quality Canvas Goods & Aussie Mills Embroidery to solidify the high-quality fashion production lines, united under one brand, Claybourn.

Within a few months of its acquisition, Peter has more than doubled its Australian workforce, its design team, as well as the factory space, warehouse & its premium outlet.

Present and Future
With Peter’s global vision, international connections, expert local knowledge, strong finance & business track record, building on the back of premium quality,
design and service of Claybourn’s century-long expertise, he planned to take the business globally to offer “One Stop” full-range fashion & apparel, with expert manufacturing skills and carefully picked a large variety of
fabrics.

While our Heritage product lines will continue to evolve and always be made in Australia, from 2022, led by our Chief Designer Ricky Conti who combines his Italian flare with Claybourn’s English and Australian tradition, Claybourn’s large in-house designers and manufacturing team in Australia work closely with carefully selected manufacturing partners globally, from both Australia and overseas. Supported by our large numbers of in-house full time QC, QA, and merchandisers with a permanent office overseas who check the production regularly during the manufacturing process, instead of just ordering the products online like most other brands do, so Claybourn can deliver a full range of fashion and apparel, from head to toe, men and women, adults to kids, pet clothing to all other accessories from casual, active to formal, with best quality and management control.

claybourn outlet store

Along with both online and forthcoming flagship company-owned & franchised stores worldwide, Claybourn is a truly international premium brand, like a boutique premium department store under Claybourn - a “one-stop” premium fashion & Apparel brand.

Our products