Ulrich Lang New York: Where Photography and Fragrance Meet

“Developing the fragrance is the most important part of the product. I am confident in my visual sense, but equally confident in the sense of smell I have trained throughout my life.”
— Ulrich Lang

Essential Information
The Founder and the Origins of the Brand
What Matters to the Brand
The Fragrance Lineup
By the Way…

Essential Information

Founded: 2003 (preparations for the brand began in 2002)
Founders: Ulrich Lang and Britt Biegelsen
Based in: Greenwich Village, New York City
Official website (US): https://ulrichlangnewyork.com
Official website (Europe): https://ulrichlangnewyork.eu

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

From a Small Perfumery in Southern Germany

Ulrich Lang was born and raised in Backnang, a small town in Baden-Württemberg. In this provincial town, his sense of smell developed quietly but steadily.

The foundation was his grandmother’s small perfumery in southern Germany. Lined with lotions and fragrance preparations, her shop was both an extension of everyday life and a school for the senses for the young Ulrich.

“From an early age, I absorbed everything happening in my grandmother’s perfumery. That was where I received my education in perfume. It taught me so much.”
— Ulrich Lang

By his teenage years, he is said to have been able to identify the perfumes worn by people passing him on the street. As he later recalled, he “grew up with Jil Sander and Wolfgang Joop”; the fashion and fragrance culture of southern Germany at the time helped shape his aesthetic sensibility.

Bavaria, London and Düsseldorf: A Series of Turning Points

Ulrich studied business and marketing at the University of Passau in Bavaria. His interest in creative work was already clear during his studies, and he undertook internships in both music publishing and cosmetics.

An internship at Estée Lauder in London was a particularly important turning point. Recalling that he was “the first male intern,” he had the opportunity to work on the launch of New West for Men at a company that still retained a family-like atmosphere. He associates this experience with the fashion for marine notes created using Calone, a marine fragrance ingredient handled by Firmenich. It is worth distinguishing the men’s fragrance, however, from New West for Her, composed by Yves Tanguy, which is known as an early fragrance to make striking use of Calone.

“All of these experiences shaped me and trained my nose.”
— Ulrich Lang

After working in publishing in New York following graduation, he returned to Germany and took a marketing position at L’Oréal. Moving to Düsseldorf brought a dramatic change of surroundings, but there he learned global marketing methods, cross-cultural communication and French approaches to work firsthand. He later said that corporate life did not suit him, while acknowledging that it was “an excellent school.”

New York: A City Where Art and Perfume Intersected

In 1998, Ulrich returned to New York with the intention of settling there permanently. His fascination with the city had continued since his first visit in 1987. In his words, “New York was grittier and rougher around the edges back then, but I fell completely in love.”

His New York career began in publishing. He worked for Brant Publications, whose titles included Interview Magazine and Art in America. After his time at L’Oréal in Germany, he went on to establish the contemporary-art business at Artnet.com, a major online art-market portal. He flew to Europe every month, attended all kinds of art fairs and became a regular at Art Basel. In the process, his passion for contemporary photography deepened, and he developed his own practice as a collector.

During his first stay in New York, he also took Virginia Bonfiglio’s introductory perfumery course at FIT, the Fashion Institute of Technology. With major industry figures such as Thierry Wasser and Jimmy Bell appearing as guest lecturers, he said that the course gave him the same excitement as “going to a club.” Bonfiglio told him, “You have the talent to build a career in the world of perfume.”

September 11: A Turning Point

Then came September 11, 2001.

For a creative person living in New York, the shock of that day must have been particularly profound. Ulrich speaks of it quietly but clearly as a turning point in his own life.

“When 9/11 happened, we all needed to reinvent ourselves. That was when I realized it was time to do something of my own, and I decided to create a brand with one of my oldest friends in New York.”
— Ulrich Lang

That “oldest friend” was Britt Biegelsen. Both had worked in New York’s art-publishing world. Ulrich brought experience honed in marketing at L’Oréal and business development at Artnet; Britt was his longstanding friend and ally. Together, they founded Ulrich Lang New York in Greenwich Village in 2003.

What Matters to the Brand

“The Box as a Canvas”: Bringing Photography into Fragrance

What decisively distinguishes Ulrich Lang New York from other niche fragrance brands is its concept of integrating contemporary photography.

“One of the important things I did in 2003 was to use the box as a canvas for an artist. Then I would choose a fragrance that suited the artwork: the artwork becomes both an inspiration and a design element.”
— Ulrich Lang

At a typical perfume brand, fragrance comes first, and packaging is merely a vessel that protects and presents it. For Ulrich, however, the relationship between photograph and fragrance is equal and works in both directions.

“People ask whether the fragrance or the photograph comes first, and it can be either. Sometimes I think of an ingredient first and commission a photographer; sometimes it begins with an image.”
— Ulrich Lang

The photographers he collaborates with are people he personally admires as a collector. “The photographers I work with are people whose work I would want to collect,” he says. Erik Swain, Katy Grannan, Matt Licari, Elspeth Diederix, Olivia Bee, Matthew Porter, Song Yuan and Will Matsuda: a different photographer is invited for each creation, and each brings a distinct perspective to the bottle’s box.

Simplicity and Sustainability

One word Ulrich returns to again and again is “simplicity.”

“Simplicity and understatement are part of my DNA.”
— Ulrich Lang

That philosophy also informs the packaging. The bottles are simple glass cylinders with a silver ring and atomizer, stripped of as much ornament as possible. Environmental considerations mean that no outer cellophane wrapping is used, and materials are chosen for ease of recycling.

“What you see in my products is exactly who I am. It is a fusion of my experiences and my passion for the worlds of perfume and art, particularly contemporary photography.”
— Ulrich Lang

The “Magic” of Keeping Perfumers’ Names Private

At a time when many niche perfume brands foreground their perfumers’ names, Ulrich deliberately keeps that information private.

“There is still a great deal of magic in this industry. I wanted to keep some of that magic within the products, so I did not tell everything.”
— Ulrich Lang

Some fragrance databases list “Roger Szmulewicz” as the perfumer behind individual creations. This is, however, the name of the Belgian art dealer who modeled for the Anvers image. It should be noted that official sources continue not to disclose the perfumers’ names.

Releasing Something Only When There Is Something to Offer

Since the launch of Anvers in 2003, the brand has released just nine fragrances as of 2026. This is an unusually slow pace in the contemporary fragrance industry.

“I only launch something when I have something really wonderful to say. If a fragrance is ‘me-too’ (a mere imitation) or cannot find an audience, then I am not offering anything.”
— Ulrich Lang

The Fragrance Lineup

Since its founding in 2003, Ulrich Lang New York has released nine fragrances. The range consists of eaux de toilette and eaux de parfum, primarily in 100 ml bottles, with unisex compositions as its guiding approach.

The Early Collection: From Anvers to Nightscape (2003–2009)

Anvers (2003)
The brand’s debut fragrance. Its name, French for “Antwerp,” pays tribute to the stylish Belgian city. The image features Roger Szmulewicz, a dealer in twentieth-century photography with ties to Antwerp, photographed by Erik Swain, who trained with Steven Klein and others. Opening with bergamot, lime, tangerine, sage and mint, it is a woody-aromatic fragrance with the weight of leather and moss.

Anvers 2 (2007)
A sequel to Anvers. Inspired by a photograph of Szmulewicz in a forest wearing a formal coat and sneakers, it features photography by Katy Grannan.

Nightscape (2009)
The third creation took a different direction from the Anvers series, placing patchouli at the center of an urban fragrance. The packaging uses a photograph of New York at night by young American photographer Matt Licari. Sniffapalooza Magazine reported that it was created in collaboration with Frank Voelkl of Firmenich, although the brand does not officially disclose the perfumer’s name.

The Middle Collection: From Lightscape to Aperture (2012–2016)

Lightscape (2012)
An airy citrus fragrance built around galbanum and Sicilian lemon, layered with violet and iris. Amsterdam-based Elspeth Diederix, who expresses sculptural ideas through photography, created the dreamlike image of clouds illuminated by a flash.

Aperture (2014)
A woody-spicy eau de parfum combining complex materials including pink pepper, tobacco, cedarwood and animalic notes. It was created in collaboration with the Aperture Foundation, a nonprofit organization known as a springboard for photographers, and a portion of sales supports the foundation’s educational programs. The packaging features a dreamlike photograph by Olivia Bee, who had already produced a notable body of work at nineteen. At $200, it is the most expensive fragrance in the current lineup.

Apsu (2016)
The name comes from a mythological term meaning “fresh water.” A photograph of a palm leaf taken on the West Coast by New York-based photographer Matthew Porter provides the visual for a fragrance that embodies the green, natural atmosphere of summer. Its simple, minimalist character has won many admirers, making it one of the brand’s bestsellers.

Recent Collections: Out into the World, into Mythology (2018–2023)

17 Nandan Road (Around 2018–2019)
This fragrance began with Ulrich’s first visit to Shanghai in 2017, when he was captivated by Guangqi Garden, a park where osmanthus blooms each October. The fragrance takes its name directly from the park’s address, 17 Nandan Road. Some fifteen years after the brand’s founding, it broadened its gaze to a landscape encountered in China, using a mesmerizing photograph in which Chinese writer and poet Song Yuan captures osmanthus flowers in abstract form. A delicate creation centered on osmanthus, intertwined with Sicilian lemon, suede and musk.

Lethe (2021)
Named after Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in Greek mythology. The image, by Polish photographer Łukasz Wierzbowski, features an expanse of exposed skin. It expressed a longing for the warmth of skin during the isolation and anxiety of the pandemic. Lavender, cedarwood, vanilla and musk combine to create an enveloping warmth.

“In uncertain times, we try to escape the outside world and focus on the comfort and warmth of love. With one spray, Lethe leads you safely into oblivion.”
— From the brand’s official description

Suncrest (2023)
The ninth fragrance, and currently the newest release. It was inspired by the work of Will Matsuda, a Japanese American photographer based in Portland, Oregon. An abstract photograph capturing leaves in fiery crimson, a homage to Hanafuda playing cards, brings energy to the packaging. The fragrance combines peach, black currant, Sicilian lemon and jasmine with a woody base using Firmenich’s sustainable ingredient Dreamwood™.

“Optimism, innovation and surprise. Those are the three key words for Suncrest.”
— Ulrich Lang

By the Way…

A Man Who Helped Build the Industry’s Meeting Place

Ulrich has not only created fragrances; he has also helped create a gathering place for the niche fragrance industry itself. In 2011, he co-founded Elements Showcase with Frederick Bouchardy of Joya Studio and art-fair producer Jeffrey Lawson. The first event, in January 2011, featured forty exhibiting brands; by 2012, that number had exceeded one hundred. It is now known as a pioneering trade show in niche fragrance.

“If I Could Collaborate with a Musician, It Would Be Sade!”

Asked about his dream collaboration, Ulrich answered without hesitation: “Sade!” When asked what that fragrance would be like, he replied:

“It would be very sexy and very mysterious.”
— Ulrich Lang

A Passion for Astrology

Well known within the industry, Ulrich is also an astrology enthusiast who can almost always guess the zodiac sign of someone he has just met. Calling himself “a typical Libra,” he says he takes time to make decisions and enjoys bringing people together.

“If You Were a Single Ingredient?”

“Cedarwood,” he says: a woody note shared by many of his fragrances.

References