Beauden Barrett says the new All Blacks jersey is better than the old one - because he won't need a teammate's help to put it on.

Unveiled in Japan on Wednesday evening, the national men's rugby side's shirt latest edition is be a black jersey with a white half-collar - four years after dumping the traditional white collar for a black border.

Barrett was among a number of All Blacks at the Tokyo launch to give a thumbs-up to the new look.

"This one is really comfortable, more comfortable than the last one," he said.

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"We can get it on and off ourselves, whereas the previous one required a bit of teamwork.

"This one is very exciting, it's quite stretchy, but light and tight, which a lot of the guys like."

HANNAH PETERS/ GETTY IMAGES All Blacks first-five Beauden Barrett models the new jersey.

Sonny Bill Williams said it felt better "as soon as I put it on".

"It almost feels like a second skin, I'm just really excited about the look. I love that the white collar is back."

HANNAH PETERS/ GETTY IMAGES Sonny Bill Williams and Kieran Read pose in the new jersey.

The collar colour change also found favour with other traditionalists in the All Blacks' ranks.

"Going back to the white collar is pretty cool," midfielder Ryan Crotty said.

Growing up in Canterbury, he remembered "watching guys like Marshy [Justin Marshall], Mehrts [Andrew Mehrtens], [Jonah] Lomu and [Jeff] Wilson", wearing black jerseys with white collars.

"It's nice to get back to our heritage."

Hannah Peters Kieran Read in Tokyo in the All Blacks' new kit.

Captain Kieran Read - part of the All Blacks' 2011 Rugby World Cup winning team which wore white collars - said he had "some fond memories of the white collar a number of years ago".

He quipped that for younger players, such as 21-year-old wing Rieko Ioane, "retro is 2011 ... for me it's the 1980s or 1990s.

"Everyone enjoys the first time you get to wear a new jersey."

Crotty said it "sounds cliched, but it's significantly lighter than the one we've been currently wearing. It's supposed to be 25 per cent lighter, but it feels a bit more than that."

Halfback Aaron Smith said the All Blacks had trained in the new jersey a couple of times in the past year and it "feels amazing".