From the beginning, Ben Gorham was determined to create a different kind of luxury brand, one that reflected his ethos as someone who didn’t relate to the rarified world of traditional high-end houses but with his finger firmly on the pulse of cutting-edge culture. Gorham’s vision resonated. Over the last 15 years, his brand Byredo has jolted the world of niche fragrances and become a multicategory powerhouse that isn’t afraid to take risks, whether venturing into luxury accessories or partnering with Ikea on a line of home fragrance. Gorham, who divides his time between Byredo’s offices in Paris and Stockholm, shows no signs of slowing down. After building out the organization globally — today the brand has about 500 employees, with offices in New York, Europe, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong — Gorham is doubling down on the business, still as driven by the desire to win as ever. “The one thing that has changed is the brand has become so much bigger than me and my projections of what a brand could be,” Gorham said. “There is something amazing about how brands and companies form their own life beyond the founders. When that happened, maybe it scared me a little, but to witness it has been quite amazing.”
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You started the brand 15 years ago with the idea of redefining luxury — an idea which seems very in step with where the world is today.
Ben Gorham: We founded Byredo with this idea of defining a new take on what luxury and quality could be. It was very much about real people and defining a culture that was inclusive, and in the broader sense, how we crafted narratives and the stories we told and the faces we showed. Fifteen years ago, that was an anomaly, but we made exceptional product and were able to build a business.
Looking back, it does feel like chapters. When you do something long enough, there are clear chapters. Each one possesses its own set of unique challenges and our success comes from our ability to evolve.
What is the chapter you’re in now?
B.G.: From a business perspective, we are relatively big and we are truly global. What we’ve done is probably taken the more difficult route, because we’ve tried to be best in class and excel in all of the different channels. We do really well online, we opened retail stores, we do wholesale. We still work with partners in some markets and we started opening travel retail. It’s been a very deliberate choice, because we wanted to be able to maintain the agility of being able to pivot in a world that is changing faster than ever. We understood that people shopped in different ways, so in the spirit of inclusivity, it also meant being in the different places where people are.
What chapter now? We’re growing into this bigger suit. We spent quite a few years building out the infrastructure and making sure we would be able to continue the momentum. And then came COVID-19, which is like the ultimate curveball for everybody. But I found that the agility that we built as a part of the corporate structure worked really well. We were able to accelerate online, shift resources and energies to markets that were open and connect to clients and customers to the point where we could actually talk to them.
How did it impact how you approach and think about the business?
B.G.: There is the acknowledgement that anything could happen. I don’t think that existed in the minds of most people before. Our world got truly turned upside down. As we continue to grow and build the company, there is a level of wisdom that comes with acknowledging that anything can happen. Because we did so well during COVID-19, I don’t think it necessarily changed the way we do things, but we are much more aware about this idea of agility — being able to shift energies and resources as we continue to grow — that is important.
Prior to the shutdown, you traveled the world. What was it like to be grounded?
B.G.: Initially it was frightening — maybe more from a control perspective. I had been so mobile for so many years. On and off planes in every market. People asked me — in retrospect, do you think you traveled too much? Maybe, but I was expected to be in places, meeting people and press and attending openings. The big change is there’s an acceptance for these new types of connections and communications and the expectations are different. We’re not going to go back to not traveling, but we will go back to a healthier approach to movement.
You started in fragrance, and expanded into other categories like leather goods and makeup. How do you decide where to go next? What makes a category interesting to you?
B.G.: From Day One, it was clear in my mind Byredo would be so much more than one category or product. It took me quite a few years to build a successful stable business, so I focused on fragrance for quite a few years before I pivoted. The step I took into leather goods and accessories was because I was truly trying to disrupt peoples’ ideas of what Byredo could be. It required a big sidestep, so I went into something I found extremely interesting and challenging, which brought back a lot of the initial emotions of starting a company. In that initial phase you only see possibilities, because once you start the framework, it becomes clear. I keep that as an ingredient — it keeps us curious and driven.
After taking that big sidestep into something people thought we couldn’t do, I was able to take a step back into beauty — through makeup. Magically people thought it was completely rational. It is very much about disrupting people’s idea of what we can be. There is a level of education and disruption that is important for the brand — 15 years later, our clients and customers expect that level of surprise and innovation and creativity.
Where do we go next? I have a really interesting idea around skin care that I’m exploring. It’s quite intuitive. I’m still in the initial phase of exploring the feasibility, which gives me a chance to think about how to do things. Doing things is one thing — but how you do them is really the difference.
How do you think about collaborations and how do you decide who to collaborate with? How much is art versus science?
B.G.: I’d lie if I said there isn’t an analytical strategic component, but all of the collaborations have been pretty much with people I know. They seldom come out of left field in terms of the construct. They are organic in the sense that I know these people and they’re founded on a creative idea. The product needs to have a reason for being and the collaboration needs to have a reason for being, and the sum needs to be greater than the two parts
Inviting people into the creative process and having them contribute facets to what this brand is is an important part of the DNA. Our ability to stay relevant comes from our evolution.
Who haven’t you worked with and would love to?
B.G.: Lauryn Hill. She’s a fascinating person with a strong perspective who I grew up seeing and listening to.
Manzanita has owned Byredo for almost a decade. There are reports that they’re now looking to divest some beauty holdings. Can you talk about the future of the brand?
B.G.: I partnered with Manzanita about 10 years ago — they bought a majority stake — and together we realized an incredible vision. We created a profitable and global business with a successful track record and plenty of opportunity for further development given its high growth trajectory. The current discussions have more been about what the next five to 10 years look like — it is an exploration, but right now nothing more than right now.
Often we see founders leave after a certain period. What compels you to stay?
B.G.: I truly love what I do and feel fortunate to have this amazing platform to express myself and talk about things I find meaningful. I also believe that even though we’re making primarily beauty products, they make people feel good and I still get great joy in that idea. I’ve always tried to engage with customers and clients thoughtfully and be authentic, and people connect to our products emotionally. As long as that is the case, I will continue.
Although my title is creative director, I founded the company and I’m an entrepreneur. I’m a former athlete and I’m extremely competitive. I still look at the big brands and I love competing. What compels me to stay is a variety of things — but I’m working more than ever and probably happier than ever within Byredo.
How do you describe your leadership style?
B.G.: When I started I was quite intense. To keep something afloat is hard work. I imposed my intensity on people — maybe a little too much. But I learned relatively quickly that to get the most out of people they need to enjoy their work as much as me, and be in a constructive environment. I try to promote a culture and leadership style that is more of a dialogue and it is ultimately healthy, because what we do may seem important, but it’s never more important than the individual’s health and family and mental well-being. Over the last few years, I’ve become quite interested in how we continue to grow with the right cadence without sacrificing those things.
You’ve said you want to create a more inclusive version of luxury. At a time when we’re seeing the increasing democratization of distribution, what does luxury look like?
B.G.: For me, I was an outsider — not just an industry outsider, even as a person of color and a person from a lower class and the child of immigrant parents, the world was never accessible culturally. I dreamt about — like most people — things of a certain quality and certain lifestyle and a level of comfort, but that world wasn’t catering to people who looked like me. My starting point was myself. What would a luxury brand for Ben be? What would the tonality be? What would the people look like who represented this brand and what would be the stories this brand told? That became the foundation for what we built.
Yes, the world has changed, thankfully, and I do believe that is largely due to these generational shifts. I see it in my children — they grow up with a very different idea of what is right and wrong and they don’t have that level of acceptance for injustices and history.
Social media also an important facet — just giving people a voice.
I’m happy to see those things. For us — it is business as usual, but our peers seem to be coming around and it is all for the better. We welcome that — and it will be a more interesting diverse world as we move forward.
What’s the craziest idea you’ve ever had?
B.G.: God, I have so many! Recently I pitched a car company that Byredo should design a car. I was completely convinced they would buy it — but it seemed far-fetched. It is a little bit like some days I feel like nobody knows us and we just started. Some days I’m amazed when I stand in front of 500 employees and it blows my mind that together we were able to create this. It is still high and low, chip on my shoulder and big dreams. There is no shortage of crazy ideas, and like Byredo hopefully one day they will be realized.