Otto Kern
Otto Kern was a German fashion designer who launched his eponymous menswear label in 1970, building it through the 1980s into one of the country's better-known mid-market suiting brands before his death in 2017. The fragrance line, produced under licence by Mäurer & Wirtz, has outlasted much of the apparel business and remains a steady drugstore presence across German-speaking Europe. The perfume catalogue is small and unfussy, focused on aromatic fougères and clean citrus colognes built for office wear. Compositions like Signature, Be Cool and the Hot range have stayed in continuous production for years, refreshed periodically with seasonal flankers. Pricing sits at the upper end of the mass tier — drugstore shelves rather than department stores, but slightly above the bargain rack.
DNA over time
Each column is an era. Each colored band shows that family’s share of accord weight across every perfume the house released in that window. Bigger band = the house leaned harder on that family.
