Byredo: The Stockholm Maverick Who Turns Memories into Scent

“I had no experience whatsoever with perfume. But I was deeply drawn to the medium of ‘smell’ and to the connection between memory and scent. I approached a perfumer and asked him to help me put together a creative project. That interest eventually became an ‘obsession.’”
— Ben Gorham, Founder of Byredo

Essential Information

Brand name: Byredo
Founded: 2006
Place of founding: Stockholm, Sweden
Founder: Ben Gorham
Official website: https://www.byredo.com
Origin of the name: A coined word formed by shortening “By Redolence.” “Redolence” is an Old English expression meaning “a sweet, pleasant fragrance.”
Current parent company: Puig, which acquired a majority stake in 2022. The transaction value is estimated at approximately €1 billion.

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

A Boy Raised Between Cultures

Ben Gorham was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1977. His father was Canadian, of Scottish and French-Canadian descent, and his mother was Indian. He grew up moving between Toronto, New York, and Stockholm, and this multicultural background would later become fundamental to his brand.

Chembur, on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, and the home of his maternal roots, always held a special place in Gorham’s memory. The incense rising from Hindu temples and the spice-laden air remained olfactory memories that would become the starting point of Byredo much later.

Basketball, Then Loss

Passionate about basketball from childhood, Gorham made the most of his 195 cm, or six-foot-five, frame, playing seriously in Canada and the United States. He eventually became a professional player in Europe, but visa problems brought his career to an impasse.

At twenty-five, his life as an athlete came to an abrupt end. The loss of something that had occupied every part of his day left the profound void familiar to many former athletes. Gorham subsequently worked in manual labor on construction sites while searching for a new direction.

Art School and a Fateful Encounter

Gorham then enrolled at an art school in Stockholm, studying a broad range of fine-art subjects including painting, photography, and history. His studies trained him in expressing emotion through visual media.

The turning point after graduation came entirely by chance: an encounter with Swedish perfumer Pierre Wulff.

“After graduating from art school, I met the perfumer Pierre Wulff completely by chance. That sparked my interest in the process of ‘translating particular memories into scent.’ I had always worked in visual media, but from the beginning I was fascinated by scent: an extremely abstract medium with an extraordinarily powerful capacity to evoke emotion.”
— Ben Gorham

Through his conversations with Wulff, Gorham became captivated by the idea of recreating his memories through smell. But he was not a perfumer himself, and recognized that he had neither the aptitude nor the time to undertake professional training in the field.

“I did not think I could reach their level. There are really very few perfumers who get to that level.”
— Ben Gorham

From Kitchen Candles to the World

Gorham’s first experiment was making scented candles in the kitchen of his Stockholm home. At that stage, both his funds and his knowledge were limited.

“I made candles at night and sold them during the day. They were terrible. All I had was an idea and a lot of junk.”
— Ben Gorham

Wulff, however, introduced Gorham to two leading perfumers: New York-based Jérôme Epinette and Paris-based Olivia Giacobetti. Gorham presented them with his own creative briefs, establishing a distinctive collaborative style in which he directed a perfume’s concept and emotional direction while leaving the actual composition to professionals. It was an unusual approach in the perfume industry.

After roughly two and a half years developing five scents, Byredo was officially presented in Paris in 2006.

Memories of His Father and Mother: The First Two Creations

Byredo’s first perfume, Green, was an attempt to recreate the smell of Gorham’s father. Its composition includes petitgrain, sage, jasmine, rose, honeysuckle, violet, tonka bean, almond, and musk.

“The first thing I made was the smell of my own father. But I realized that, while it was the smell of ‘my father,’ it was also something many people could relate to as the smell of a ‘father figure,’ whether their father or grandfather.”
— Ben Gorham

Encens Chembur, released in 2008, grew out of memories of Chembur, his mother’s birthplace on the outskirts of Mumbai. Once a picnic spot, the area had undergone development by the time Gorham returned, but the smell of incense from the Hindu temples remained unchanged. Composed of bergamot, lemon, elemi, ginger, temple incense, nutmeg, labdanum, amber, and musk, the fragrance clearly established Byredo’s identity as a brand of “perfumes of memory.”

The scent of his father, the scent of his mother’s hometown: Byredo literally began with Gorham’s own family roots and memories.

The Path of Growth

Byredo grew at an exceptional pace for a niche fragrance brand.

As of February 2013: Worldwide sales of approximately $30 million. The brand began appearing in leading concept stores around the world, including Colette in Paris, 10 Corso Como in Milan, Liberty in London, and Barneys New York.
2013: London investment firm Manzanita Capital, the parent company of Diptyque and Space NK, acquired a majority stake, accelerating global expansion.
2015: Byredo opened its first directly operated US store in SoHo, New York.
2017: The leather-goods collection debuted at Paris Fashion Week.
2018: A flagship store opened at 199 rue Saint-Honoré in Paris.
2020: The makeup line launched in collaboration with artist Isamaya Ffrench.
2021: Revenue reached €119 million.
May 2022: Spanish luxury group Puig acquired a majority stake, with the transaction valuing the brand at approximately €1 billion, or around ¥107 billion. L’Oréal and Estée Lauder were also reported to have participated in the bidding.
2023: The VIRASAAT fine-jewelry collection launched.
June 2025: Gorham stepped down as chief creative officer and left Byredo. Full integration into Puig was completed.

“I am proud of what we have accomplished on this twenty-year journey. I am confident in Byredo’s bright future, and now entrust the brand’s strong identity entirely to Puig.”
— Ben Gorham, on his departure in 2025

What the Brand Stands For

The Philosophy of Fragrance Creation: “Translating Memory”

At the heart of Byredo’s creative process is the idea of “translating memories and emotions into scent.” Rather than relying on market developments or trend analysis, Gorham conceives fragrances through his own intuition and subjective response.

“Our process is not based on numbers, research, or trends. We begin with an idea and an emotion, then express them through a combination of smells.”
— Ben Gorham

In practical terms, the process works like this. Gorham is a habitual note-taker, recording things he sees and experiences while traveling on his smartphone or in notebooks, accumulating hundreds of fragments. When one idea has matured sufficiently, he develops a detailed creative brief to communicate the emotions and images to the perfumer. He reportedly uses every available means, not only words but photographs, music, films, and objects, to share the feeling he wants to achieve.

Every product on the shelf reaches its final form after roughly 150 rounds of trial and refinement.

The Perfumers: Invisible Co-Creators

Jérôme Epinette and Olivia Giacobetti have played central roles as the “translators” of Byredo’s scents. Originally from Burgundy, France, Epinette once aspired to become a wine sommelier and works for Robertet. He has created many of Byredo’s signature fragrances, including Gypsy Water, Bal d’Afrique, and Pulp. Michel Almairac has also contributed to some creations.

Gorham is explicit: “I establish the direction and the origin and control that completely, but they, the perfumers, are the artists. They do the actual translation.”

Bottle Design: Scandinavian Minimalism

Byredo’s bottle design was an important point of distinction from the outset. It was developed by Swedish designer Moses Voigt while he was at Acne Art Department, with a custom typeface created for the label.

Based on modernist principles and the characteristics of early-twentieth-century Gothic lettering, the typeface was intended to be “modern yet timeless through simple elegance.”

Gorham explains the inspiration behind the design as follows.

“The modernist era was the origin of commercial perfumery, the world of Chanel. Ask people what perfume is, and they think of Chanel No. 5. That era was an important reference point for Byredo’s design: a way for a brand without a history to give people the feeling of ‘perfume.’”
— Ben Gorham

The cylindrical bottle, black domed cap, and monochrome label create a refined presence that embodies Scandinavian restraint and Gorham’s vision of “luxury that blends into everyday life.”

Incidentally, the letter “B” in Byredo’s logo is designed to resemble “13,” Gorham’s jersey number during his basketball days. It is intriguing that the former athlete’s spirit quietly lives on in the brand’s most basic symbol.

The Unisex Philosophy

Many of Byredo’s perfumes are offered as unisex fragrances. This reflects the brand’s fundamental belief in responding to individual memories and emotions rather than gender, and Gorham has deliberately removed the boundaries between men and women.

“I make what I want to make. And fortunately, people share my idea of what they find beautiful.”
— Ben Gorham

The Fragrance Lineup: Key Collections

Byredo now offers several dozen fragrances. Here, we explore the structure of its key collections and some of its best-known creations.

Representative Eaux de Parfum

Byredo’s eaux de parfum begin with different memories and images: family history, an imagined journey to a place not yet visited, the appearance of a flower, or the emotions of adolescence. Each starting point gives the perfumer a different subject to translate into scent.

Gypsy Water began with Gorham’s memories of Roma people he saw by a river while living in Italy. He acknowledged that his picture of a free way of life was idealized, and also spoke of the persecution Roma people continued to face in Europe. Earth, deep woods, and campfires express his attraction to life close to nature, alongside feelings more complicated than that bright image alone. Bergamot, lemon, juniper berries, and pepper lead into incense, orris, and pine needles, with amber, sandalwood, and vanilla providing warmth.

Bal d’Afrique draws on the diaries Gorham’s father kept during fifteen years in Africa. Its imagined meeting of 1920s Paris and African culture takes shape through bergamot, neroli, African marigold, cyclamen, cedarwood, and vetiver. Gorham had not yet visited Africa when he chose the theme. He recalled that it took longer to develop than his other fragrances released at that point: for the first time, he was moving beyond a remembered smell to express the emotions contained in memories passed on by his father.

“it is an imaginary journey, but also a full celebration of how I see African culture and its influence”
— Ben Gorham

Blanche connects the purity of white with the intimacy of another person’s skin. Gorham made it for his partner, who did not usually wear perfume. Aldehydes and centifolia rose suggest freshly washed fabric, followed by peony and violet, while sandalwood and musk bring the warmth of skin. The contrast recalls a fresh white shirt touching the body. That meeting of clean cloth and physical closeness later became the subject of a more pronounced contrast in Blanche Absolu.

Mojave Ghost grew from Gorham’s encounter with the ghost flower of the Mojave Desert. What interested him was its apparently fragile appearance and its ability to survive harsh conditions, rather than the flower’s smell. He began with the flower, place, and story, explored the emotions they evoked, and developed them in conversation with the perfumer instead of choosing materials first. He described the fresh sweetness of nesberry and warm musk rounding out a woody base. Magnolia and sandalwood, powdery violet and cedar express the plant’s quiet strength, bringing delicacy and endurance into the same fragrance.

Encens Chembur places temple incense at the center of memories of his mother’s hometown. Gorham was struck by the way its smell had remained familiar even as development transformed the green landscape he remembered from childhood. The distance between the visible surroundings and his olfactory memory became the subject of the perfume. Bergamot, lemon, elemi, and ginger meet temple incense, labdanum, amber, and musk. Mumbai Noise would later draw on the same place while foregrounding the city’s intensity and modern life.

Mumbai Noise arrived in 2021. Unable to travel, Gorham returned to notes from his stays in Mumbai and photographs of his grandmother’s home. He revisited both the comfort of being surrounded by family and the overwhelming sounds, cars, rain, and colors of a large city. He wanted to retain the tension between familiarity and the unknown, tradition and change. Bright, warm woods meet plum-like davana and leather, bitter coffee and sweet tonka bean. Ashish Shah’s campaign photographs also showed contemporary Mumbai, including its young designers and dancers, rather than confining the city to Gorham’s childhood memories.

La Tulipe evokes a garden regaining color and definition after a long winter. As tulips announce the change of season, cyclamen, freesia, and rhubarb bring the brightness of a waking garden, while woods and vetiver add warmth and an earthy impression beneath the tulip accord. Some tulip varieties have a scent, but the subject here extends beyond the smell of a single flower. Its vivid shape and the garden coming back to life express the pleasure of a new beginning.

Black Saffron starts with the smell, taste, and color of saffron familiar to Gorham through his Indian heritage. Saffron-colored robes also represent Hindu monks’ renunciation of material desires, and the fragrance connects this cultural association with ideas of unity and inclusion. Juniper berries, pomelo, and saffron lead into violet, rose, and a leather impression, followed by raspberry, woods, and vetiver. The later Absolu keeps this cultural starting point while bringing spice and leather further forward.

Super Cedar began with what Gorham described as an exaggeration of wood. Within a deliberately spare composition, cedar provides energy, warmth, and a sense of verticality. Its associations are close to everyday life: pencil shavings and memories of school. The minimal structure places wood at the center while drawing on an ordinary childhood experience.

Slow Dance, released in 2019, explores the excitement and awkwardness of dancing with someone as a teenager. It catches a moment between innocence and experience, familiarity and uncertainty. Masculine and feminine, bitter and sweet impressions meet in a composition suggesting warm skin and the closeness of another person’s breath. Traditional resins such as opoponax and labdanum combine with geranium, violet, patchouli, and vanilla. Gorham looked back on his own adolescence and the conflicting feelings of beginning to experience romance.

Pulp connects with time Gorham spent in the Caribbean, where his father worked for the United Nations. That memory meets Swedish elements in the idea of a fruit basket bringing together produce from different places. The focus is a dense mass of ripe, sweet flesh and its intense flavor, rather than a portrait of one fruit. Blackcurrant, fig, and red apple contribute to that mingling of fruits.

Night Veils: From Nocturnal Flowers to Leather and Resins

Night Veils is a collection of extraits de parfum set in the world of night. It began in 2015 with Casablanca Lily, Midnight Candy, and Reine de Nuit. These first three explored flowers at their most intense, with jasmine in Midnight Candy and rose in Reine de Nuit. Casablanca Lily takes its name from a lily but combines impressions of plum, gardenia, carnation, tuberose, and honey, rather than reproducing only the flower in its title.

In 2016, the theme expanded to leather craftsmanship. Le Gant, La Botte, and La Selle interpreted the work of glove makers, boot makers, and saddlers. After the first floral group, these fragrances continued the approach of exploring a subject chosen by Gorham through dense combinations of materials. The black 30 ml bottles with glass stoppers were designed for applying small amounts.

The 2019 relaunch brought Casablanca Lily, Reine de Nuit, and Sellier in 50 ml bottles. Tobacco Mandarin, Vanille Antique, and Rouge Chaotique followed, extending the collection beyond nocturnal flowers to tobacco, vanilla, fruit, and oud.

For its tenth anniversary, Night Veils adopted tall bottles with antique-gold caps and opened a new chapter with five fragrances, including Bois Obscur. Created by Robertet perfumer Jérôme Epinette, Bois Obscur begins with cool eucalyptus and saffron, followed by jasmine, tuberose, and an oud accord. Patchouli, labdanum, sandalwood, and mineral amber give it depth. The contrasts of coolness, flowers, and wood convey nocturnal intensity alongside sweetness.

The other four fragrances in that relaunch were Casablanca Lily, Cuir Sellier, Vanille Antique, and Rouge Chaotique. Cuir Sellier combines black tea and cashmeran with tobacco leaves, a leather accord, birch, and oakmoss. Vanille Antique moves from freesia and plum to amber and cashmere woods, leaving Madagascan vanilla and resinous cistus. Rouge Chaotique sets the sweetness of plum and praline against the dark woody impressions of papyrus, patchouli, and oud.

Havana Tonka subsequently joined the collection. Taking Havana at night as its setting, it moves from rum, pink pepper, and a crème brûlée impression to tobacco leaves, white suede, and roasted tonka bean absolute. The European listing in November 2026 includes six fragrances with Havana Tonka among them. This current selection differs from earlier lineups that included Reine de Nuit and Tobacco Mandarin.

Absolu de Parfum: Reworking Familiar Creations

While Night Veils develops a shared nocturnal theme, Absolu returns to existing Byredo fragrances. It began in 2024 with Mojave Ghost for the fragrance’s tenth anniversary, followed by Blanche, Bal d’Afrique, and Rose of No Man’s Land. Keeping the originals’ names and inspirations, these interpretations shift the balance of woods, flowers, spice, and sweetness to reveal another expression.

In April 2025, Jérôme Epinette explained: “Instead of just doing a flanker, the Absolu was bringing something different, unique.” For Mojave Ghost and Blanche, he described maintaining the originals’ concentration while adding materials or emphasizing particular facets. The current collection presentation also promotes high concentration, but that broader positioning is distinct from his explanation of these two fragrances in April 2025. The Absolu name does not establish that every fragrance is simply a uniform increase in concentration.

Mojave Ghost Absolu retains the ghost flower’s resilience as its inspiration, strengthening the woody side and its elusive character. The original pairing of flowers and woods develops into a more pronounced contrast between bright fruit and deep woods. Pear, ambrette, and Jamaican nesberry give a fresh opening, followed by powdery violet, magnolia, and warm sandalwood. Cedar and vetiver sustain the woody structure, while warm amber and Chantilly musk support the idea of beauty in a harsh environment. Epinette sought a different experience through new materials while retaining the original’s character and concentration.

Blanche Absolu widens the contrast between clean fabric and intimate skin. Touch, comfort, and the warmth that remains after contact are central to this reinterpretation. Cool, clear aldehydes become more prominent, with black pepper and neroli adding warmth; rose, violet, and jasmine bring a more vivid floral center with a subtle fruity quality. White musk, cashmere woods, and ambroxan provide softness and warmth. Both the freshness of white cloth and the sensuality of skin are intensified.

Bal d’Afrique Absolu keeps the original’s tribute to African culture, music, dance, and art while developing its gourmand side. It builds a stronger contrast between bright lightness and enveloping depth. Bergamot, lemon, and blackcurrant open the fragrance; praline, sweet musk, and violet form its center. Cedar and vetiver retain the woody framework, with warm black amber extending the praline impression into the drydown. A sweet heart changes the way the original brightness is experienced.

Rose of No Man’s Land Absolu continues the original story of the strength and compassion of people who help others in difficult circumstances. Smoky facets deepen, and a trio of roses runs through the development. Saffron, blackcurrant, and pink pepper bring brightness, followed by the sweetness of black raspberry and peony. Papyrus, patchouli, and amber support the roses, sharpening the contrast between floral tenderness and dark depth.

Gypsy Water Absolu takes a traveling way of life and the freedom of a journey without a fixed destination as its theme. It expands the original’s warm woods and adds a spicy contrast. Bergamot and pine needles meet black pepper; carrot seed’s earthy warmth reinforces the smoothness of orris butter, while incense absolute brings spreading smoke. Vanilla absolute, white suede, and ambroxan redraw the original forest and campfire imagery through different spices and textures.

Black Saffron Absolu connects saffron’s associations with sacredness and transformation to cultural inheritance and contemporary identity. Its aim is to extend the original warmth while giving spice and leather more fullness. Bright blackcurrant leads into a floral center, then a base suggesting black leather, incense, patchouli, and oud. The shared saffron theme remains, with greater emphasis on leather, smoke, and dark woods.

These six fragrances appear in the European Absolu collection in November 2026. Their textured caps were inspired by Japanese yakisugi, giving the bottles a different appearance from the tall forms and gold caps of Night Veils.

Home Fragrance: The Story of the Chai Candle

One of the most emblematic pieces in Byredo’s home collection is the Chai candle. Recreating the scent of chai from the Indian subcontinent, specifically masala chai, a drink made by simmering spices and black tea and combining them with milk, it is directly tied to Gorham’s memories of his grandmother’s home.

“The Chai candle was a very direct translation of my grandmother, who died when I was in my early teens. She was a special person and my only real connection to India and Chembur, where my mother grew up. This scent brings me tremendous warmth and joy. I hope people will build their own relationship with it.”
— Ben Gorham

With notes including cardamom, clove, ginger, incense, mate, birch tree, and warm latte, this characteristically Byredo creation shows how personal memories can become a source of universal connection.

Collaborations and Expansion into New Categories

The photographs, tools, and ways of living of Byredo’s collaborators have also become starting points for fragrance. Work with graphic designers, photographers, fashion designers, and a furniture company has extended from the conception of a scent to vessels and spaces.

M/Mink, launched in 2010, reversed the usual process of making an advertisement for a finished perfume. M/M (Paris), the duo of Michaël Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak, gave Gorham three clues: a solid ink stick bought in Korea that they used in their work, a photograph of a Japanese calligrapher friend practicing his daily brushwork, and a large imaginary formula Augustyniak had drawn in ink on handmade Korean paper. They left the interpretation to Gorham rather than referencing existing perfumes or repeatedly testing samples on themselves and friends. They wanted a broad interpretation of ink that could genuinely be worn, not merely a conceptual object. They recalled that about seven months later, before ordering lunch at a Paris restaurant, Gorham sprayed the result on them; they accepted it without requesting changes. For M/M, fragrance offered a new, immaterial way to share an intimacy they had previously conveyed through images and signs.

1996, released to the public in 2013, began with Inez & Vinoodh’s photograph Kirsten, 1996. In 2011, Inez described reversing their familiar task of making advertising images for an existing fragrance: this time, the photograph would come first. They told Gorham about scents they loved, countries they dreamed of, and emotions on and beneath the image’s surface. His visit to their home and experience of their daily life also informed the project. The photograph expressed a duality running through their work and life together, which Gorham translated into scent. It began as a private Christmas gift for friends, with a print and perfume in a wooden box, rather than as a product intended for sale.

In 2018, Byredo and Virgil Abloh’s Off-White introduced Elevator Music. Gorham said they had been friends for more than eight years and had long discussed working together; the project took shape when both brands had matured enough for it to make sense. Like the background music suggested by its name, the fragrance was conceived to accompany a person’s life rather than dominate it, taking on a different character with each wearer. Working from Byredo’s approach of limiting the number of materials, Abloh chose impressions of burned wood and amyris that Gorham said had not appeared in other Byredo fragrances at the time. Denim, T-shirts, and bags joined the perfume in a capsule collection, extending the idea into clothing and accessories.

IKEA and Gorham’s OSYNLIG comprised thirteen scented candles, launched in Europe and the United States in November 2020 and Japan in March 2021. The project began with the idea that a home is shaped not only by appearance and function but also by the memories and comfort evoked by smell. Students from the Royal College of Art helped develop prototypes using light, sound, and scent to transform a space. The candles were grouped into fresh, floral, and woody families, with room for people to choose and combine scents according to their own memories and preferences. Two-tone glazes on the ceramic vessels represented the fragrance materials in color; the containers could later hold small objects or remain as decoration. Both collaborators also wanted to make this approach to fragrance accessible at a lower price.

Space Rage, by Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack and Byredo, arrived as a perfume and candle in late 2020. Contemporary reports relaying Gorham’s comments to WWD described a project born of friendship and a wish to make the idea of space travel tangible. Its scent description used imagined cosmic language, including cosmic dust, starlight, and supernovae, rather than a conventional list of materials. Blue-to-purple glass and glow-in-the-dark lettering extended the same imagined universe to the perfume bottle and candle.

Byredo’s work with M/M Paris reached beyond perfume. Gorham described the collaboration as particularly influential: it helped him set aside inherited ideas of right and wrong and connect his own feelings to his work. Their long conversations also helped simplify his working process and build confidence in his expression. For the Paris store in 2018, he commissioned an enlargement of their Drawer’s Drawings as a mural, bringing the relationship into visual design and physical space. In makeup, Lucia Pica became creative image and makeup partner in 2022.

Through such collaborations, Byredo has evolved into a lifestyle brand spanning not only perfume but makeup, since 2020; leather goods, since 2017; eyewear; jewelry, since 2023; and even apparel and food, through a tea collection.

Incidentally…

Gorham himself does not wear perfume. “You probably won’t believe it, but I don’t wear perfume myself,” he said in an interview with MECCA. Because his work involves engaging with scents all day, he reportedly prefers as neutral an environment as possible at home.
Michael Jordan is Byredo’s “spiritual founder.” Gorham has idolized MJ since childhood and made the famous story of Jordan being cut from his high-school team, whose accuracy is debated, a guiding principle in his own life. He startled an interviewer by declaring in all seriousness, “Michael Jordan is the direct reason Byredo’s makeup succeeded.” When it was suggested that the high-school story might actually be a myth, Gorham replied:

“That was the story they told. So I believed it. (That’s the story they told, so that’s the one I ate.)”
— Ben Gorham

He has spoken openly about having dyslexia. “I don’t read many books. I’m dyslexic, so reading was not something I was good at,” he has said in an interview. Instead, he often draws inspiration from visual and auditory sources such as film, Instagram, and music.
His dream is to design a car from scratch. Asked in a Whitewall interview what he had not yet made but would like to create one day, Gorham replied, “I have always dreamed of designing a car truly from the ground up.”
The brand has won numerous awards. These include a 2013 Wallpaper Design Award for packaging design, a 2017 CEW Beauty Award for Velvet Haze, and a 2018 Allure Best of Beauty award for Eleventh Hour.

References