Founder & Creative Director, Byredo

A native Swede, born to an Indian mother and a Canadian father, Ben Gorham grew up in Toronto, New York and Stockholm. His original and very serious dream was to play Basketball professionally. As a young athlete he excelled at the game, playing for his high school in New York and then college in Canada before leaving to play professionally in Europe. Unable to obtain the correct paperwork to continue professionally, Gorham reluctantly gave up the game. He eventually found solace in the arts and enrolled in art school in Stockholm. Upon graduating, a chance meeting with a perfumer convinced him that he’d rather express his creativity through fragrances than paintings. With no formal training in the field, Gorham sought out the services of two world renowned perfumers explaining his olfactory desires and letting them create the compositions. As an outsider in the beauty industry, Gorham is somewhat of an anomaly and has been recognized for his personal style and connection to fashion and art in several international magazines.