Open To Interpretation

Following the launch of Byredo Makeup, founder Ben Gorham talks about the issue of identity and how being undefined has served him well

- Coco Marett

Ben Gorham has no idea what he’s doing—and he’s just fine with that. When the former basketball player launched his fragrance brand, Byredo, in 2006, and decided that he didn’t want to fit into the traditional parameters of the beauty industry, Gorham—and subsequently, his collection of scents—went from outsider to celebrated anomaly almost overnight.

Now, he’s venturing into a new unknown: Byredo Makeup. Gorham had entertained the idea of introducing a beauty collection five years ago, but put it on ice because he “had a hard time relating to it personally”. It was two years ago, when he met British make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench, that he knew he had found his collaborator. Praising her “very high expectations in function and performance”, Gorham tapped Ffrench to help him bring a splash of colour to his otherwise characteristically monochromatic brand.