Ben Gorham Leaves Fragrance House, Byredo After 19 Years
Byredo's founder is stepping down nineteen years after creating the brand, which is now controlled by Puig.
Ben Gorham, the founder and creative force behind Byredo, will step away from the brand at the end of June 2025—nineteen years after its inception. His departure marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter under the full control of Spanish beauty conglomerate Puig.
Byredo was born in 2006, not from formal perfumery training, but from Gorham’s instinctive understanding of design, identity, and emotion. A former professional basketball player with Indian and Canadian roots, Gorham had studied fine arts before a chance encounter with a perfumer in Stockholm sparked an unexpected obsession with scent. What began as a personal artistic venture quickly evolved into one of the most influential niche fragrance houses of the 21st century.
Gorham’s vision was always more than just perfume. Byredo was a vehicle for storytelling—a minimalist, modern luxury brand that blended memory, culture, and design with quiet confidence. His debut scent captured an idea more than a formula, and soon, the world took notice.
When Puig acquired a majority stake in Byredo in 2022, the brand was already valued at over one billion euros. Gorham remained onboard to support the transition, a commitment he extended until mid-2025. Now, as he exits the company he built from scratch, Puig fully assumes the reins, adding Byredo to its portfolio of prestige names including Rabanne, Charlotte Tilbury, and Dries Van Noten.
Under Gorham’s leadership, Byredo expanded far beyond fragrance. The brand ventured into beauty with a distinctive, artistic approach—initially partnering with makeup visionary Isamaya Ffrench, and later working with Lucia Pica. It moved into leather goods, eyewear, and most recently, fine jewellery with the launch of Virasaat, a collection inspired by Gorham’s Indian heritage. Through every evolution, Byredo retained its core identity: elegant, emotive, and never mainstream.
Its most iconic scents—Gypsy Water, Mojave Ghost, Bal d’Afrique—became cultural touchstones. Created in close collaboration with perfumer Jérôme Épinette, these fragrances were notable for their delicate sensuality, resisting the bombast of mass-market perfumery. Together, the duo crafted 37 fragrances that blended subtlety and soul.
Now, the future of Byredo lies with Puig. The group has a strong track record of nurturing its acquisitions while maintaining their distinct voices—evident in its careful stewardship of Dries Van Noten and its backing of Rhode’s rapid rise in the beauty world. The direction Puig chooses for Byredo remains to be seen: broader global expansion, deeper creative experimentation, or a sharpening of the brand’s narrative edge. The challenge will be to grow Byredo’s influence without compromising its spirit.
As for Gorham, he steps away without fanfare, but his legacy is imprinted in every bottle. Byredo will carry on—but its scent will always carry echoes of the man who believed that fragrance could be a form of storytelling.
