Ulrich Lang New York

About Ulrich Lang New York

Ulrich Lang New York is an American fragrance house connecting perfume with contemporary photography. Former L’Oréal executive Ulrich Lang established the business with his longtime friend Britt Biegelsen. Images can provide the starting point for a fragrance, while a finished scent can also become a prompt for a photographer.

History

Lang grew up in southern Germany and became familiar with perfume through his grandmother’s perfume shop. Work in cosmetics marketing and the art world brought together interests that later shaped his New York-based fragrance line. Its first perfume, Anvers, appeared in 2003. The Belgian photography dealer Roger Szmulewicz became its face and muse, linking the fragrance with Antwerp and a particular photographic portrait.

Philosophy & Signature Style

Photography is part of the creative process and packaging, extending beyond decoration. The house gives each composition a visual counterpart and a second way to approach its character. Lang describes an interest in balancing simplicity with sophistication: recognisable fruits, flowers, woods and leather can retain different textures within a carefully shaped composition. An individual photograph or sensory contrast provides a starting point for exploration.

Representative Fragrances

17 Nandan Road connects osmanthus in a Shanghai garden with a photograph by Song Yuan. For Nightscape, Matt Licari carried a sample through New York and photographed the city after dark. Suncrest centres on peach, pairing bright fruit and creamy woods with Will Matsuda’s image of vivid red foliage inspired by Hanafuda cards.