Ben Gorham looks anything but a
purveyor of fine fragrances. He is
a towering, tattooed figure with
the physique of a basketball player
(it’s no surprise to learn he played
professionally), but it is his fresh approach to
the creation of scents that has earned him
staggering success with his brand Byredo.
Born in Stockholm but brought up in Canada and
New York, at 25, Gorham sought his alternative plan
when his sporting career came crashing down. “Growing
up in the ’90s listening to hip-hop, everything was about
jewellery, cars and mansions... the class journey,” he
reflects. “Basketball was supposed to give me those
things; when that disappeared, I still had aspirations
of luxury. I wanted to become a businessman, be a
good father, a good husband. Create a better life.”
A chance meeting with perfumer Pierre Wulff
illuminated a new path – and Gorham charmed Wulff
into collaborating on Green, a scent inspired by the
memory of his absent father and a prime example
of the left-field perspective that became the brand’s
calling card. “In the world of beauty, I felt taste
was dumbed down to cater to everybody,” he says.
“I had a simple idea: making unique smells within
the framework of what I saw as good taste.”
But, unable to produce perfumes in sufficient
quantities, Gorham started to mix scented wax
in his kitchen, making candles to sell to top
Swedish shops. “It was bootstrap, for real – and
it was a hustle,” he grins. But it worked. Bottled
scents followed and, thanks to meticulous
branding and his grasp of the fashion scene
(working with photographer duo Inez &
Vinoodh, visionary design agency M/M Paris
and model Freja Beha Erichsen), suddenly he
owned the coolest perfume brand around.
But Gorham is not one to sit back: once he
was on track to nail fragrance, he extended the
aspirational principles of Byredo to produce
Italian-manufactured leather goods and, this
summer, eyewear and trainers, all with the same
minimalist aesthetic and fanatical finesse as
his scents. “I still have that underdog thing and
I’m hugely competitive,” he grins. “I want to
give the big brands a run for their money.
I believe if my shit is good, people
will come.” It is, and they will. nMR VOGU ECompetitivespiritBen Gorham is slam dunking
the market with his vision of
luxury, says Olivia Singer.
Photograph by Nik Hartley.
Styling by Julia BrenardBen wears wool
jacket, £2,200.
Wool trousers, £740.
Necklace, £2,100.
All Dior. Trainers,
£80, Nike. Watch
and ring, Ben’s
own. Grooming:
DIGITAL ARTWORK: LUCIE SILVEIRAShuhei Nishimura08-19-MrVogue.indd 91 31/05/2019 07:14
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