Fragrance house

Aigner

AIGNER traces its origins to Hungarian-born Etienne Aigner, who found early success designing bags for Paris haute-couture shows in the 1930s, presented his own collection in New York in the 1950s, and met businessman Heiner H. Rankl in Munich. The Munich AIGNER brand was established in 1965, when Aigner granted Rankl licensing rights outside North America to create the Munich-based European business. During the 1970s and 1980s, it expanded beyond leather goods into luggage, shoes, scarves, ties, fragrances, clothing, watches, and fashion jewelry. Ownership changed after Wolfgang and Reinhard Rauball acquired a majority stake between 1981 and 1983, followed by Evi Brandl’s majority acquisition in 1989 and the company’s removal from the stock exchange in 2004. AIGNER’s identity remains tied to its horseshoe-shaped logo, leather bags and accessories, craftsmanship, and evolving design language. Christian Alexander Beck’s team creates the handbags expressing that language, and the brand first presented at Milan Fashion Week in 2009. Its fragrance line began in 1975, including Etienne Aigner No. 1, with earlier fragrances often drawing on leather or suede themes.