ULRICH LANG

ULRICH LANG is a niche fragrance house that builds its perfumes around contemporary photography. It was established in 2003 in Greenwich Village, New York, by Ulrich Lang, a former L'Oréal executive, together with his longtime business partner Britt Biegelsen [1]. The house remains active, selling through its own US and EU online stores and a range of niche retailers, though its most recent scent launch on record dates to 2023.

Despite the "New York" in its name, the brand's operating entity is registered in Germany. Its imprint lists a legal address in Backnang, in the Baden-Württemberg region, with Ulrich Lang named as managing director [2]. Both descriptions are accurate seen from different angles: the house was founded in New York, while its commercial operations run from southern Germany.

Ulrich Lang grew up in southern Germany, where his grandmother ran a small perfumery — an early exposure to scent that he has cited as formative. He later studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, worked at Estée Lauder in London, and held roles at L'Oréal and in the art world, including involvement with the online art portal Artnet around 1998–2000.

According to The Perfume Collective, the company was set up in 2003 in Greenwich Village as a collaboration between Lang and Britt Biegelsen [1]. Sources differ slightly on the founding year: the retailer Sniph lists 2002 [3], while The Perfume Collective and the founder's own recollection in an Essencional interview point to 2003 as the launch year [1][4]. The earlier date most likely reflects the company's formation, with 2003 marking the market debut.

The conceptual core of ULRICH LANG is the pairing of perfume with modern art photography. The company states that contemporary photography has shaped both the development and the packaging of each fragrance, with commissioned images used on bottles and in campaigns. Each scent, in the brand's words, is composed of eclectic notes that "artfully balance simplicity with sophistication."

The house positions itself in the niche, art-driven end of the fragrance market, describing its scents as understated and versatile. Its stated tagline is "Inspired by fine photography." In an Essencional profile, the perfume critic Persolaise was cited describing the house as one of the more underrated fragrance brands [4].

Lang has declined to name the perfumers he works with, telling one interviewer he would not disclose his collaborators in order to preserve what he called the magic in the product [4]. As a result, individual perfumer credits are absent by the founder's choice rather than by omission.

The range centres on eau de parfum, with the debut men's fragrance Anvers — its name a reference to Antwerp — described by the house as a fusion of fresh aromatics, spices, florals, leather, woods and amber. Other releases include Aperture, Lightscape, Apsu, Lethe, 17 Nandan Road, Nightscape and Suncrest.

The art connection runs through the catalogue. Aperture was created in support of the non-profit Aperture Foundation, using photographer Olivia Bee's "Quiet" series, with a portion of proceeds directed to the foundation's education programming. Lightscape features packaging by the Amsterdam-based artist Elspeth Diederix, while the Belgian art dealer Roger Szmulewicz served as the face of Anvers.

More recently, the brand worked on a digital project called ULNY 3D, a collaboration with the XR platform CUUUB by acameo, intended to let customers experience its scents in a virtual environment. The project received support from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs [5].

The house has drawn recognition from the Fragrance Foundation Germany's Duftstar Awards. In 2015, both Aperture and Anvers were named nominees [6]. The brand also states on its EU site that it has been nominated four times for the Duftstar Award. It has been profiled by fragrance-focused publications including Fragrantica, Essencional and the Scentbird blog.

ULRICH LANG remains active. It operates two live e-commerce sites, one for the United States and one for the European market, both carrying current-year copyright notices, and its products are also available through niche fragrance retailers. The most recent launch documented in available sources is Suncrest, dated to 2023 [7]. The German operating entity in Backnang remains registered and active [2].