Hugo Boss
Explore 129 Hugo Boss fragrances — notes, longevity, sillage and community ratings, matched to how you want to smell. The house dates from 1924, founded by Hugo Boss.
About the house
Hugo Ferdinand Boss took over his parents' clothing shop in Metzingen and in 1924 started a workwear factory with two partners, Albert and Theodor Bräuchle. After he died in 1948, his son Siegfried and son-in-law Eugen Holy ran the business and moved production toward uniforms for the French army, railways and police. Suits came later, with a first suit order in 1950, ready-made suits by 1960 and the first Boss-branded suits in 1970. Werner Baldessarini joined as designer in 1975, and the Boss trademark was registered in 1977.
Sources differ on when perfume began. One account dates the fragrance line to 1984 and the stock market listing to 1985, while other sources place the first Hugo Boss fragrance in 1985.
Ownership has changed hands several times. The Marzotto textile group bought a 77.5% stake in 1991, and the Marzotto family is reported to hold a minority stake today. Permira held a share through Red & Black Holding and announced in March 2015 that it would sell its remaining 12%. Frasers Group has built up a stake from about 5% in 2020 to 19.25% by December 2024. Fragrance licences passed from Procter & Gamble to Coty in 2016, when Coty closed its deal for P&G's beauty brands. In December 2022 Coty renewed the licence for all Boss and Hugo fragrances, men's and women's, extending it beyond 2035.
Boss Bottled came out in 1998 as a men's eau de toilette, credited to perfumer Annick Ménardo. Some retailer listings add Christian Dussoulier as a second perfumer. Ménardo has recalled that there was no specific brief at the time, so she built a gourmand idea around cooked apple, cinnamon and vanilla, linked to apple strudel. One reviewer called the original a woody aromatic that was a balanced alternative to the bolder scents of its period.
Boss Bottled Elixir followed in 2023 for the 25th anniversary, composed by Ménardo with Suzy Le Helley as the most concentrated version in the line. Olfastory lists a 2024 Boss Bottled Triumph Elixir by the same two perfumers, and names Chris Hemsworth as the Boss Bottled ambassador since 2017.
Signature notes
These notes show up in Hugo Boss fragrances at least twice as often as in the catalogue as a whole. We worked this out from each fragrance's listed notes. It is not how the house describes itself.
Best known for
Boss Bottled, Deep Red, Hugo, Boss The Scent, Boss Bottled Night and Boss The Scent For Her — the most-rated in our catalogue.
Releases
From 1985 to 2025, 129 fragrances with a known year.
Said to be the inspiration
Some houses say which fragrance one of theirs was inspired by. These are the Hugo Boss fragrances they name.
- One house describes one fragrance as inspired by The Collection Vigorous Cologne. What they say →
