‘Swedish Grace’ is the new ‘Hollywood Glamour’ – and this is how to achieve the look

Gothenburg-based beauty brand Lernberger Stafsing has become world-renowned for its top-of-the-line hair products and high quality skincare. Founded 10 years ago by celebrity favourites Patrik Lernberger and Mattias Stafsing, the work of the respective hairstylist and makeup artist has today become almost emblematic of how the world views Scandinavian beauty. And they continue to set the tone for what’s to come.

Taking over the Gothenburg Concert Hall, built in 1935, the duo crafted the latest look to covet this season: ‘Swedish Grace’ waves. “It [the Concert Hall] represents a style we really like and which inspired the part of work we like to refer to as ‘Swedish Grace’,” the duo explains.

Originating in the 1920s, the English architecture critic Philip Morton Shand coined the aesthetic design expression when he reviewed the modernist Stockholm exhibition in 1930 for The Architectural Review. He stated that Sweden’s rapid and successful establishment as a design nation during the roaring ’20s was due to the local craftsmen’s feeling for artistic quality and grace.

It is this refined tonality which resonates with Lernberger and Stafsing today. “It feels as modern 100 years later as it did then,” they say. “This is exactly what we want reflected in our work and everything we do.” Hence the choice of location for the brand’s latest shoot to capture the ‘Swedish Grace’ wave in its proper environment.

While ‘Hollywood Glamour’ has taken over TikTok with swooping curls and enviable volume, ‘Swedish Grace’ wave is the look’s lived-in, realistic counterpart. “We wanted the styling to feel timeless, elegant and classic but with a contemporary twist,” Lernberger and Stafsing explain. “After the winter’s cold weather with all the problems it can cause for the hair, it’s time for lots of volume and lovely hair again.”

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With only three hours to shoot, “everyone was hyper-stressed,” the duo explains. “We also had a wind machine with us which made an awful lot of noise so the models didn’t hear the photographer’s directives – there was a hell of a lot of screaming,” they laugh. However, their frequent collaboration with photographer Mikael Kenta helped the process run smoothly. “If you are a close-knit team with a common goal image, you instinctively know when the image ‘fits’.”

When setting out to style “like a pro,” the duo’s best advice is to imagine the end result and then work backwards, breaking down the “mental image” into parts. “It also depends on whether it is an ‘ordinary’ person, an artist or a model,” they say. “If you work with an ordinary person, it is important that the person looks like themselves and that they feel comfortable.”

As for achieving the look at home, both Lernberger and Stafsing agree that it comes down to using the right products. “Wash your hair with Lernberger Stafsing Shampoo and Conditioner for Volume, and then apply Lernberger Stafsing’s Blowdry in wet hair,” they say. “It gives you heat protection and stability.”

Blow dry your hair upside down until completely dry, and then divide your hair into sections to curl on big hot rollers or with a large curling iron. While the curls vary in the images, the “same technique was used for all three hairstyles, but with different sized rollers,” the tighter the coils, the smaller the roller.

When the rollers are still in your hair or the curls pinned up, apply Lernberger Stafsing’s Dryclean. “This will give you incredible volume and make your blowout stay for days,” the duo notes. Once you’ve removed the rollers, brush out the hair using a natural bristle brush for shine.

The pièce de résistance, however, is a second application of the Dryclean spray. “It gives you a more undone look and style,” Lernberger and Stafsing explain. Finish the look with strong-hold hairspray to add some texture and freeze the curls, and you’re good to go.