At London Packaging Week this week, the creative forces behind the new Bentley Become fragrance line came together to present what they described as a “visionary step into the future of luxury lifestyle.” The panel included Ben Saltmer, head of lifestyle design at Bentley Motors, Camille Ten Horn, artistic director at Carré Basset, and Claire Domergue, founder at Luxus +, who moderated the discussion. Together, they shared the story of how Become blends meticulous British design with a bold sustainability mission.
Ben Saltmer opened by sharing that Bentley is not just an automotive brand but “the definitive British luxury manufacturer” with a design philosophy that reaches far beyond cars. The company’s lifestyle division spans furniture collections, branded residences, interior design for lounges and event spaces, and collaborations with partners such as Ducati and The Macallan.
Moderator Claire Domergue, of Luxus + (left), leads a discussion with Camille Ten Horn of Carré Basset and Ben Saltmer of Bentley Motors during the presentation of Bentley’s Become fragrance at London Packaging Week.PMMI Media Group
He explained that these creations don’t simply echo the look of a Bentley vehicle. Instead, they express the same values of precision, craftsmanship, and timeless style that define the brand. “We don’t want something that’s cliché and directly inspired by the car,” he said. “It needs to be inspired by the brand.”
He added that each lifestyle piece must carry the same sense of authenticity that customers associate with Bentley automobiles. “Everything we create has to resonate with the brand, not a particular vehicle,” he said. “Everything in our products has to be honest.”
He described Bentley’s design “recipe” as a balance of potency, inspiration, and pioneering spirit. This was the philosophy that shaped the creation of Become, a fragrance that channels that same energy of being powerful yet refined, and immediate yet layered with thoughtful detail.
Form and emotion in perfect balance
Ten Horn brought the design story to life, explaining how Become captures Bentley’s visual and emotional DNA. “Bentley Become is a fragrance that allows you to unfold your own story,” she said. “It’s truly for the fearless, the bold, those that dare to seize every opportunity in life and embrace the vibrancy of the present.”
She described the bottle as both architectural and emotional. Its symmetry between the cap and shoulders draws the eye toward a central horizon line, “evocative of new beginnings, freedom, and perfect balance.”
The design pays homage to Bentley’s heritage while staying forward-looking. “For the cap, we were directly inspired by the grille found on the Bentley GT,” she explained. “For the shoulders, we looked to the Bentley Blower grille. Together they form one strong, confident line that highlights Bentley’s modern vision.”
Ten Horn said that achieving simplicity was an intentional design choice. “It’s quite sleek, simple, minimalist, but it still has that power of Bentley. It’s immediately recognizable,” she said. Heavier or more ornamental forms, she added, “wouldn’t have fit the bill.”
Sustainability with intention
The conversation then moved into the subject of materials and sustainability, an area both speakers described as fundamental to the project. Ten Horn emphasized that the design process for Become was not just about beauty, but also about responsibility. “We truly wanted to make something that was intentional,” she said. “It’s timeless in its design but also very forward-thinking in its impact.”
She detailed the steps taken to ensure the product met strict environmental standards. “The glass itself is a low-weight glass made out of 15% post-consumer recycled glass,” she said. “The green color is done with a biodegradable ink. The aluminum cap is 100% recyclable. Even the secondary packaging uses FSC-certified paper that’s fully recyclable.”
Designed with sustainability in mind, the Bentley Become package features recycled glass, a biodegradable tint, and an FSC-certified paper carton.Bentley Motors
Inside the bottle, the fragrance continues that sustainable story. “The olfactive notes are made with upcycled ingredients,” Ten Horn noted. This decision led to creative challenges, since lighter oils changed the appearance of the fragrance. “We wanted to create that green tint,” she said, “but then we had to rethink the ink that was put on it to make sure that it was biodegradable. It was kind of like a little cat and mouse game, but it all worked together.”
Saltmer praised the team’s precision. “There’s a lot of greenwashing that happens around the world now,” he said. “But to obtain those sustainability credentials and that attention to detail really amazed me.”
Collaboration and creative integrity
Moderator Claire Domergue guided the discussion toward collaboration and process, asking what challenges the team faced in translating the Bentley lifestyle into a fragrance. Saltmer responded that it was a relatively straightforward, easy project. “When you get two companies that know exactly what the end result is to be, there’s a collaboration there,” he said. “We worked tirelessly and really closely to get what we wanted in the end.”
Ten Horn agreed but noted that authenticity required patience. “The research aspect probably took the most time,” she said. “We wanted to make sure that it was sincere and that it worked from inside and out.”
Domergue observed that Become carries a sense of purity and longevity, a feeling that Ten Horn tied directly to sustainability. “When looking at the product, we want to feel that it is something light and fresh, and that you can sense it’s a natural product,” she said. “A heavier or overly ornamental design simply wouldn’t have suited the vision.”
The spirit of transformation
When Domergue asked what made them most proud, Ten Horn spoke of the project’s sincerity. “It’s something that’s truly, authentically sustainable,” she said. “It’s not sustainable for trends or just because it’s the new thing to do. It’s genuine, and it fits the vision that Bentley is working on.”
Saltmer added that the purity of design was a particular point of pride. “It’s super simple. We got pretty much everything that we wanted,” he said. “We didn’t want something that shouts—we wanted something timeless that looks great.”
As the discussion closed, Ten Horn introduced the next step in the journey, Bentley Become Zenith, an evolution of the original fragrance that offers “a fresh airy opening with a deep sensual finish.” It expands the Become range while remaining faithful to Bentley’s vision of transformation and renewal.
Redefining the future of luxury
What emerged from the London Packaging Week presentation was more than a discussion about a new product. It was a conversation about what luxury means today. In Become, Bentley shows that beauty and responsibility can coexist, that craftsmanship and conscience can shape the same object. PW
