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A horseshoe logo marks the products made by Etienne Aigner AG. A Munich-based manufacturer of quality leather goods such as handbags, belts, and shoes. The company promotes its logo as the symbol of a prestige brand that combines traditional handcrafted quality with innovative Italian-influenced fashion. The firm is named after a Hungarian-born designer and leatherworker who won acclaim in the 1950s for the quality of his products. Two completely independent firms: Etienne Aigner Group in the United States and Etienne Aigner AG in Germany--now carry on the Aigner tradition.
The German firm, which markets its products in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, has expanded well beyond the trademark leather goods of its namesake. The company's product lines include "Fashion Accessories" (scarves, neckties, and umbrellas) and "Treasure" (costume jewelry and sterling pieces). In addition, Aigner licenses its name for the manufacture of men's and women's clothing, cosmetics, eyeglasses, and watches. Aigner operates its own retail stores in many key markets, but the franchise system remains a central part of its sales strategy. The company expanded its franchise system and its product lines in the 1970s, and, after weathering difficult years in the mid-1980s, entered a particularly profitable period in 1989. The late 1990s presented challenging economic conditions for luxury consumer goods, but the company is asserting itself in the new millennium with a revamped retail store concept and innovative young designers.
Etienne Aigner was born to a Hungarian Jewish family in 1904 and grew up in Budapest. His creativity manifested itself as he invented new binding methods in bookbinding trade and experimented with making his own paper. The bookbinding work brought him his first experience working with leather.
In the 1930s Aigner moved to Paris and continued his work as a bookbinder until the start of World War II. He learned the latest techniques for treating and working with leather during this period. When the German occupation began, however, Aigner fled Paris and in 1943 headed for the mountains with French Resistance forces. After the war, he returned to Paris, abandoned bookbinding, and embarked on a career in fashion. He applied his leatherworking skills to create fine belts and handbags, selling them to retailers such as Dior, Lanvin, and Rochas.
Aigner moved to New York in 1950, where he presented a collection of leather goods under his own name, and the Etienne Aigner brand was born. As a logo he adopted a stylized version of his monogram: the letter "A" in the form of a horseshoe. Aigner sold his designs to a local manufacturer, but soon found that his handcrafted approach and "haute couture" style clashed with the mass production mentality of the New York fashion industry. So he set up his own business in his bedroom, making belts in a single color, rich burgundy, because it was the only material he could afford. The belts were well-received and could be found in most leading department stores by the mid-1950s. As his financial situation improved, Aigner was able to expand his offerings to include other colors and also added hemp materials to the product line. The quality of his goods won him the nickname "The Man with the Golden Hands."
The Etienne Aigner brand made its way back to Europe thanks to a German textile businessman named Heiner H. Rankl. Rankl stumbled upon the Aigner logo at a fashion show in Canada and, after long negotiations, won production and sales rights for the brand in Europe. The Etienne Aigner AG was founded in Munich in 1965. The company developed a leather collection around a trademark look: tortoiseshell leather with open edges. When some aspects of the New York designs, such as metal studs, proved too rustic for European tastes, Rankl adopted a more Italian style for the German company. The U.S. Etienne Aigner, meanwhile, continued on its own track, and was sold to dress manufacturer Jonathan Logan in 1967.
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