Fredrik Karlsson和Matthias Lavesson同樣從瑞典知名髮廊Björn Axén的學徒做起，懷抱美髮夢想的兩人在1996年相遇，在工作中培養出好默契和好感情，即使美髮路途不如兩人預想一般輕鬆夢幻，但一路上互相鼓勵扶持，他們也發現自己都對創作這一領域著迷不已，也因此開啟了他們的合作契機。

 

Fredrik earned his education as hair dresser when doing his apprentice years between 1996-1998 at salon Björn Axén. The salon is one of Sweden’s leading hair dressers and famous for being purveyor to the court.

 

Matthias started as an apprentice in the same salon. After Matthias apprentice years at the salon he continued as hair dresser and soon achieved the title Top Stylist at Bj?rn Ax?n.

 

They met there and worked together until 2001. Despite the fact that hairdressing was definitely harder and tougher than they both imagined, but the creative part is what they fell in love with.

 

關於兩人的頭飾創作，要先將故事背景拉到五年前。

熱愛創作的Fredrik和Matthias在經營沙龍之餘，將心力投入在他們最熱愛的創作，他們從自然界之美吸取靈感，以F&M之名，完成一組精美的頭飾創作，提供給需要在特定場合產線個人風采的客戶們。

 

自此開始，兩人每年都會發表春夏和秋冬兩組頭飾作品，每次的發表都在全球時尚高定界造成轟動。

 

The story began five years ago, when Fredrik Karlsson and Matthias Lavesson wanted to contribute to the beauty of this world. They launched their first collection of handcrafted headpieces under the brand name Headpieces by F&M and has elaborated a new collection twice a year ever since the first launch. They created a collection of bespoke headpieces, to be worn at special occasions when someone wants to express his or her originality.

 

「在美髮的大千世界裡，頭飾創作只是滄海一粟，但與髮型結合，卻能帶出錦上添花的點綴功效，」Fredrik眼裡閃爍著熱忱，訴說著頭飾的重要，「當趨勢髮型化為商業造型，頭飾就成了髮型的昇華，將真正的趨勢流行元素妝點其中。」

 

頭飾讓Fredrik和Matthias得以從數千位瑞典美髮師中脫穎而出，帶著獨到的眼光，揮灑天賦，他們力求進步，使用不同素材結合源源不絕的靈感，每一次的作品集都帶領他們晉升更高的境界。

 

"Headpieces are the icing on the cake. They are not the style, they’re the enhancement of the style that we try to give our clients every day." Fredrik says, "The headpieces separate us from the hairdressing scene in Sweden. We improve ourselves with more exclusive materials and taking the construction one step further with every collection.”

 

這些多變又與眾不同的頭飾創作很快就受到各界時尚人士的矚目，美國搞怪女星Lady Gaga到斯德哥爾摩參加活動時，也指名F&M頭飾創作。當她帶著他們創作的刺蝟頭飾出席晚會，立刻在國際媒體間造成話題，這也成了兩人至今最難忘且輝煌的回憶之一，「這絕對是我們人生中無法忘懷的一刻，它鼓勵我們相信沒有任何事是不可能的！」

 

Our philosophy is always being humbleness, respect and creativity.

 

Different collection themes have made people from all over the world spellbound, and the duo has dressed both the fashion industry and icons like Lady Gaga.

 

"The Lady Gaga moment was a really eye opener. It makes us believe that everything is possible.”

 

即使有著名人加持，Fredrik和Matthias始終一視同仁的對待顧客，名人也好，素人也好，「我們都是懷著感恩的心，謝謝這些相信我們、願意將頭髮交在我們手裡的每一個人。」

 

The philosophy of them is always being humbleness, respect and creativity. They always take as much pride in working with both celebrities as well as their private clients. They make no difference. “It's an honor to have the trust of anyone to help him or her with being the best in their hair as they can be.”

 

雖然俗話說的好，「二人同心，其利斷金」，但是創作這檔事確實牽涉眾多，若是有個意見不和，再怎麼同心的兩人，也有著鬧翻的風險。

 

問起究竟是什麼原因，讓Fredrik和Matthias總是合作融洽，他們認為最大的關鍵是謙卑自己，當團隊中的每個人不再以「我」為中心，而是開始溝通、互相了解時，才能發揮團隊的最大功效，「當我們站在舞台上，知道自己不是孤單一人，總讓我們覺得很安心。」

 

他們熟知彼此的強項，信任對方能在擅長的領域有傑出的表現，縱然總有意見不合，用心傾聽、以尊重代替怪罪，並讓創意成為潤滑劑，「一下子就能弭平歧見了，但我們也真的很少會有糾紛啦！」Matthias笑著回答，兩人的好感情不言而喻。

 

What make them always work in concord are the respect they have for each other and how humbleness they both are.

 

“We know our strengths in work, we are always respect for the difference in experiences and diversity between us. However, communication is the key and again, humbleness, respect and creatively helps solve any disagreement as soon as possible. We always work together and it’s very secure in each other while doing so.”

 

F&M出產的每一個頭飾都精美如同藝術品，既優雅又時尚，所有的作品背後，都有著「能透過頭飾，傳達什麼給消費者」的中心思想，不希望自己的作品僅僅是個美麗的裝飾，Fredrik和Matthias在創作時總時從當代社會擷取靈感，將言語寄情創作，反映時尚風潮及社會變遷。

 

訂下主題後，他們著手尋找適合的材料，針對一般客戶，易穿戴是最主要的訴求，但是真正的作品集，則需要令人眼睛為之一亮的創意。

 

隨著經驗增長與技術成熟，他們對材質的應用也愈發得心應手。每年秋冬時節，擁有針葉林的瑞典街頭總散落一顆顆帶有螺旋狀鱗片的毬果，在視覺刺激下，靈光乍現，滿地的毬果成了唾手可得的免費材料，成就了他們最喜愛的一組作品「Art I Choke」。

 

Whenever they’re about to make a new collection, they always talk about it before they actually start it. They ask themselves “What do we want to communicate with Headpieces by F&M? What's our goal?” It turns out that every collection is also a statement that's giving their reflection of the time we live in.

 

Then they will talk about with what materials and technics they are going to use to build headpieces. The headpieces they make for private clients are more wearable but always inspired by the collection. It force them have to think about making the same idea wearable but also mainstream.

 

Art I Choke一系列以毬果為主體，看到毬果向外放射的鱗片，讓Fredrik和Matthias聯想到，每個人最漂亮、最吸引人的一面往往藏在心裡，「我們應該學習毬果，不要懼怕也不要膽怯，勇敢地將美好的一面展現出來。」

 

"The Art I Choke is our favorite, for the moment. It translated the most important philosophy of all, which is we are all beautiful on the inside and we should not be afraid to let show it on the outside."

 

源源不絕的創意靈感，讓他們得以周遊在創作之海，探索不同材質和技術的結晶。兩人直說未來若是有機會，很想嘗試以金屬為元素創作，或是從未來感發想，打造複雜交織的特色頭飾。

 

The creativity in technics allows them to explore and mature in their work. If it’s possible, “We would really want to try metal works, hardware or something Complicated and space consuming in the future.”

 

去年10月，兩人受邀至美國美髮盛典UNITE Global Session擔任嘉賓，分享技術與頭飾創作的心路歷程，「這真的是很難忘也很大的肯定！當我們站上Global Session的舞台，看到上千眼睛盯著我們，才發現走出瑞典小小的美髮圈，原來我們已經在世界的舞台上有了一席之地。」

 

除了在國際上受到矚目和肯定外，當知名髮品Wella威娜於斯德哥爾摩舉辦大型髮秀發表會時，也特別指定Fredrik和Matthias全權負責所有髮型。

 

In October 2014, they were invited to Unite Global Session in San Diego to show their skills on stage and show their "Art-I-Choke” collection. They made an amazing show and were praised with comments like “Avant-garde presentations by the we-inspiring Swedish duoFredrik Karlsson & Matthias Lavesson, Project Runway status.”

 

“Global session was a huge experience for us.” they said, “In Sweden everything is smaller. It’s unforgettable to see that we also have a place on the international hairdressing scene with amazing artists.”

 

想要一起開沙龍的夢想，在兩人相遇不久後便悄然萌芽，相繼離開Björn Axén後，他們決定給自己一次機會，便在2008年以兩人名字為首的字母F和M，開了第一家沙龍，並以成為A級沙龍為目標，提供繁忙的都會人士頂級的美髮服務。

 

We met at Björn Axén and already then we dreamt of opening our own salon one day. In 2008 Matthias and Fredrik decided to start their own company, and opened Salong F&M, situated near the city center of Stockholm. Their aim was to create a top of the line salon with a unique feeling, a calm oasis for the stressed urban customer with the highest priority on service.

 

去年，Salon F&M的第一家分店正式開幕，「美夢成真的一刻！」Matthias興奮的表示，「經營並不是我們的本業，為了要做到最好，我們參加很多經營講座，還去上經濟課程！」，即使現在聘請了專業沙龍經理協助處理大小事，Fredrik和Matthias並沒有就此退居幕後，他們還是每天經手所有的書面文件，「做創意和做事業絕對不能混為一談！」Fredrik正色說道。

 

Last year, Fredrik and Matthias opened up the doors to their second F&M salon right in the heart of Stockholm. The new salon also hosts a studio for makeup, skin and nail care.

 

“Opening our second salon one year ago was truly special for us. We both work as supervisors during daytime. We only have drop -ins if there's time.” they said, “To run a salon, it’s also important to get educated in economics and keep track of the paperwork. We are creative but if we run businesses we have control of everything that comes with that.”

目前Fredrik和Matthias還是維持天天進沙龍服務預約客人的習慣，並利用閒暇時間創作頭飾，「我們不會因為有了事業要經營，就放棄最熱愛的創作！我們會繼續努力，不論是在創作的藝術性或突破，抑或是沙龍經營，也許有一天，能將Salon F&M拓展到其他國家。」

 

Whilst they’re busy running the salon, they still spare some time to do what makes them happy – creating headpieces. “We want to keep in the same direction in the future. Maybe establish a venue outside of Sweden. We will always stay true to ourselves, our creativity and the most importantly, stay true to our ideas.”

 

Fredrik & Matthias have great hope and confidence for the future, and will continue the fight for beauty in the world.