Quoc Pham and Ted Rohn have known each other for the better part of twenty years, meeting young in the same corner of cycling, one that celebrated vintage steel, tweed and well-made brogues. They connected on a love of craftsmanship and nostalgia, and what it is to come from more than one place.

In 2009 Ted had started the Tweed Run, a slow ride through London built around heritage attire and classical cycling culture. In the same year, unable to find well-made leather cycling shoes fit for both the road and the dinner party, Quoc began making his own. 

Over the years each took that instinct somewhere new, QUOC evolved into a modern cycling footwear brand merging performance with progressive aesthetics, while Ted moved to Berlin and founded Raer, a contemporary perfume house shaped by Bauhaus clarity; composing and blending natural scents in small batches from rare plants.

The two founders reconnected on a trip Quoc made to Berlin and somewhere in that conversation he described Haze: the in-between hour of a long ride, when the effort loosens and the world goes soft at its edges, where road and rhythm blur into one entity. The longer they talked, the more it seemed Ted's medium might be the one to carry it, a scent returning you to a memory rather than describing it in colours or words.

The fragrance was chosen for its reflection of the dual heritage they both share, with ingredients from the East and West. At its heart is Vietnamese Holy Basil, grown in Quo’s homeland, and layered with green mandarin, jasmine, Bulgarian rose, smoky cedar and a hint of pepper. 

On paper the two founders had gone in different directions; underneath, they had been making the same thing all along: objects made slowly, with intention, and shaped by where you come from.

Limited to one hundred and fifty bottles: Golden Hour is the first object in QUOC’s world around a ride.