2015年11月23日，在英國最權威的美髮比賽British Hairdressing Awards的頒獎典禮上，Darren Ambrose在20年的漫長等待下，終於拿下他美髮生涯的第一座年度最佳髮型師。Darren的作品擁有其獨特的韻味，如同美術館裡展示的油畫一般，濃郁深沉的色彩漸漸暈染開來，唯一的光源來自模特兒的臉部與頭髮，好似在黑暗中點亮一支蠟燭，讓人不由得把注意力全集中在最明亮的焦點上。

Last November, Darren Ambrose was crowned by the title British Hairdresser of the Year. " I've always aspired to that from being a young kid and worked hard to achieve it. Winning British Hairdresser of the Year was incredible, it was an absolutely breathtaking experience. To hear my name called out and go up on stage was like an out of body experience, I was so happy and completely honoured and overwhelmed by the result." he recalled.

這並非Darren的第一座BHA，從1995年首次以年度最佳東區髮型師獲獎後，他在短短10年內拿下6座獎盃，其中三次皆為他最擅長的前衛風格。這10年裡，每當看見年度最佳髮型師的獲獎人上台領獎，Darren都為他們從年輕一路奮鬥到站在舞台上接受眾人的肯定而深受感動，而他也終於在2015年拿下這座夢寐以求的講座。

聽到頒獎人唸出他的名字，Darren形容自在無意識的狀態走上舞台，「開心到腦中一片空白！」他如此形容，「對於這個始料未及的結果感到無比的光榮！」

This is not Darren's first British Hairdressing Award, he is one of British hairdressing's creative leaders – a winner of no less than 6 British Hairdressing Awards. His first award was Eastern Hairdresser of the Year in 1995. Darren is so passionate about art of hairdressing and with all the creativity in his mind, he has such an outstanding vision in the field of Avant-Garde hairdressing culminated when he took the title of Avant-Garde Hairdresser of the Year at BHA three times in 2001, 2007 and 2009 and also a place in the Hall of Fame.

「成為髮型師的想法，就像是潛藏在我的基因中一般。」天生對藝術和美感十分敏銳的Darren在8歲時便已立定志向， 也很幸運的在17歲時正式踏入美髮圈。從英國Clipso髮廊開始，Darren認識了開啟他BHA之門的啟蒙老師－Terry Calvert，在Darren 23歲那年，Terry鼓勵他投稿角逐BHA年度新進髮型師，他果然也不負期望的穫得這第一座獎盃。

Darren knew he wanted to become a hairdresser right from when he was a child of 8. "It was in my family and my genes. I was lucky enough to start my career aged 17 at Clipso with Terry Calvert, who nurtured and encouraged me to shoot for British Newcomer of the Year when I was 23, which I won – one of the most unforgettable experiences."

Darren的野心並不允許他安於現狀，在1996年時，也就是獲獎後一年，Darren和妻子Jackie毅然賣掉房子，成立以兩人為名的髮廊－D&J Ambrose。將所有的資本投入在髮廊，夫妻倆只能住在露營車裡，Darren並無一絲後悔，更表示，「對理想的追求能驅使人離開舒適圈，追求更卓越的未來。」他們獨具風格的漂亮作品成了最好的宣傳廣告，憑著兩人對潮流的絕佳的洞察力，D&J Ambrose提供上門的客人更有創意且時尚的造型，很快的在沙龍林立的倫敦站穩腳步，更被選國50間英國最佳髮廊之一。

By the time Darren and his wife Jackie were the top earners at the salon, they knew they had to take the risk and push themselves out of the financially secure position to pursue their ultimate dream. In 1996, Darren and Jackie Ambrose opened the doors to D&J Ambrose in Pinner, Greater London where they have secured a large and loyal clientele. They are driven by a love of fashion and the duo's business is motivated by this passion over and above anything else – this in no small part is what attracts such a host of talent to the salon as they all cite the creativity and investment made into photoshoots and artistic pursuits.

對於教育也有相當大的熱忱，Darren不遺餘力的培養了一組藝術創意團隊，有了這麼堅強的師資陣容，D&J Ambrose藝術創意團隊的成員們各個都是比賽的常勝軍，其中Kieran Tudor也接續著Darren的腳步，獲得BHA年度最佳新進髮型師的頭銜，而Luke Benson和Clayde都在Wella的Trend Vision比賽中大放異彩。

Darren oversees a talented art team back at the salon. His team demonstrates all the winning potential one would expect under his mentoring – Kieran Tudor is a winner of Newcomer of the Year while Luke Benson (now a FAME team member) and Clayde have enjoyed success in the Wella Trend Vision competition.

談起D&J Ambrose藝術創意團隊，Darren就像個驕傲的父親一般的炫耀著他們的成就，然而他也謙卑的提到，「這群年輕人充滿創意，他們創新的點子和動力不停的鼓舞我、激勵我做出更好的作品！」有了這麼棒的團隊和功不可沒的妻子在背後支持，Darren才能夠在各項領域屢創佳績。

"The D&J Ambrose Art Team inspire me more than anyone at the moment. They're innovative and keep me motivated more than ever! With this amazing support from the team and of course, my wonderful wife, I have been able to translate this into achieving wonderful accolades, BHA Hall of FAME membership and Fellow with Honours with the Fellowship for British Hairdressing being particularly important to me."

無論是商業造型或是前衛風格，Darren都游刃有餘，「在頭髮的框架之下，無拘無束的自由創作帶給我源源不絕的熱忱，這份熱忱維繫了我所創作的的每一個作品。」Darren能恣意揮灑著創意，創作出讓人為之一亮的藝術作品，也能將之簡化成沙龍客戶能即刻穿戴的造型，許多客人都是看了他的藝術創作慕名而來。

Darren is an innovative session stylist who can meet any hair brief, no matter how commercial or avant-garde, he produces some of the most jaw dropping photographic work in the world alongside the wearable styles he gives his clients.

"I am so passionate about the art of hairdressing and in particular the freedom it allows us to create, enhance and look in all directions for inspirations and ideas. And then translate even the most 'out there' look to a practical and workable solution that will be commercially viable and of course appealing to my clients and the people to whom I present it."

Darren常常漫步於倫敦最具活力與文化氣息的南岸，也常拜訪展示著當代藝術品的泰特美術館；Damien Hirst的死亡美學、Gunther von Hagens的人體標本顯示出人體的潛能與無可比擬的美感，它們也都成了Darren的靈感來源。

Darren and the team tend to go around lots of diverse areas like the Southbank, the Tate, the Wallace collections, classical art pieces; then Damien Hirst where there's extremity and mind provoking imagery. Also Gunther von Hagens, the German anatomist who created the controversial Body Worlds exhibition of preserved corpses that was amazing in a sense of just tapping into basically who we are as humans and the body function from a completely different element.

前衛創作是Darren的強項，在稍嫌誇張的髮型裡仍然保有女性細膩的美麗，他堅持自己的作品在需要在前衛，Darren堅持在嘗試美髮各樣可能的同時，仍然要拿捏分寸，確保作品能讓觀看者產生「美」的共鳴。細看Darren的作品，不難發現他擅長運用光線「打亮」在臉部與頭髮，讓人很自然地率先注意到髮型。此外，他也非常強調「傳達出作品的真實性」，讓皮膚和頭髮都不會在過度修圖下失了真。而在整體視覺呈現上，Darren則偏好使用色彩暈染的明暗效果，凸顯主要影像。

He is good at creating strong editorial images that still retain a femininity and beautiful finish. "The art of a beautiful shot is that it needs to be mathematically balanced, a photogenic girl looks balanced in the camera and a cut or style needs to have these elements to be proportionally beautiful in a picture."

He shared his tips about how to make the image better. "First, the skin is key. It should still be readable and real." he said. "Then it comes to hair, which needs to be sharp and defined but still has to look authentic. Loose hairs aren't a flaw, your collection should tell the story of what happened in the moment. Last but not the least, saturation and desaturation of the color will make your image pop."

在拍攝作品時，常常看見Jackie身兼二職，上一秒還在幫模特兒做頭髮，下一秒又拿著一套套衣服讓模特兒試穿。Darren和Jackie對時尚的熱愛造就了他們極佳的眼光，Darren更透露，模特兒身上穿的服裝大部分來自他與妻子的私人衣櫃！

With a meticulous eye for fashion, Jackie is often found styling on the team’s shoots and shows alongside creating the perfect hair look. To our surprise, Darren revealed a fun fact to us. "I absolutely love fashion so most of the clothes you see in our shoots are ours – we've built a really extensive wardrobe to style from

Darren迷人的舞台魅力與卓越的技巧成就了他教育者的角色，他也在幾年前被WELLA延攬為品牌國際大使，穿梭在全球各大城市傳授髮藝之美。

Darren has moved into a major artistic role for hair product company Wella by becoming a Global Ambassador years ago. He possesses an engaging stage style which makes him an exceptional educator. He travels widely to share his skills and has been presenting shows and seminars in many cities from China and Australia to Europe.

獲獎後的Darren比起以往更為忙碌，幸好他十分享受其中，「這個獎項替我的2015年畫下一個完美的句點，接下來的2016年我們繼續發揮創意，完成了一些精彩的創作，之後也會飛往巴黎與倫敦參加時裝週的後台準備。」Darren盼望自己能把髮藝創作與時尚脈動結合一起，創造出屬於「Darren Ambrose」的獨特風格。Darren當然也不滿足於一次獲獎，「我希望能再被提名、甚至再拿一座獎！」

"This year has started very nicely with some creative, editorial shoots, London and Paris fashion weeks and jobs abroad so we'll continue in the same vein. I hope to be nominated for British Hairdresser of the Year again and I'm breaking into the session world to combine more shows and shoots with my salon work."