Giddy up for Ben Gorham's final Byredo scent

Anyone who has been to the rodeo is familiar with its unique, terrifying thrill. A young cowboy decked out in his finery – hulking belt buckle, spurred boots, leather hat – mounts a bull; the crowd cheers; a gate is opened and out the pair go, flinging and spinning around until he’s flung to the ground. It is a short performance – the rider needs to stay on the bull for eight seconds in order to be deemed a success – but one that looks, from the audience’s perspective, impossible to achieve.

Byredo’s latest fragrance, Rodeo, pays homage to this brave and foolhardy ritual, its beauty and its violence. ‘Rodeo the fragrance captures the scent of the rodeo itself,’ says Byredo’s founder, Ben Gorham. ‘It’s the art and poetry of the rodeo, the violence, the fascination with the extremity of it. It’s the crackling sound of an old saddle, the singular focus of the bull rider. That moment when everything is calm, just before the rodeo starts.’

In particular, the fragrance is meant to conjure the exact moment those gates swing open, releasing the raging bull into the ring. It opens with warm leather and soft tobacco that recalls the smell of the saddle and the rider’s clothes before transitioning into refined notes of suede and violet, a nod perhaps to the surprising elegance of the performance; and then finishes with earthy vetiver and salted amber that give it a rugged touch, evocative of the dust floor as it’s kicked up by the bull’s hind legs.

It is also the last fragrance that will be released under Gorham’s leadership. Since founding the brand in 2006, Gorham has shepherded it into one of the most innovative beauty brands on the market, with a range of iconic perfumes and a make-up line developed with Isamaya Ffrench and later overseen by Lucia Pica. Byredo will continue without Gorham, but his departure certainly marks the end of an era. In true rodeo fashion, he’s going out swinging.