Michael Jacobson,
Co-Founder & Creative Mind behind Michael & Michael
(1965 -2021)

A leader in the Chicago fashion community for more than 30 years, Michael was one of the country’s most sought-after hairdressers, serving clients from coast to coast. A born artist, Michael began hairdressing in his mother’s kitchen while still in high school, earning his cosmetology license before graduation. He explored his diverse artistic interests at the Academy for the Dramatic Arts in NYC, studying theatre and voice, before dedicating himself fully to the design and aesthetics of hair.

Over the years, he studied in New York and abroad with the industry’s elite, including Eiji Yamane, John Sahag, Nick Arrojo and Oribe, on the way to developing his own creative vision. 

Often described as a “hair architect” because of his unparalleled ability to build shape from the inside out, Michael’s hairdressing and precision dry-cutting technique resonated with other innovators who sought to work with him collaboratively: international icon Oribe Canales invited him to style the runway looks for Giorgio Armani's Milan Fashion Week shows, and hair guru Vivienne Mackinder chose Michael for her national artistic team, and to help create the looks for Malan Breton’s 2016/2017 New York Fashion Week shows.

Michael has been featured in countless style publications, with InStyle and Allure hailing Michael's cuts as “the best in Chicago." His work has also been profiled in Elle, Town & Country, Mandarin Quarterly, Lucky, Self, WWD, Modern Salon, Salon Today, American Salon, CS and Chicago Magazine, which named Michael one of the city's top stylists.

His work for television includes The Tony Awards,The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show and Paramount Studios, and has performed significant fashion editorial work. Michael was a recipient of the 2017 American Beauty Show (ABS) Global Image Award.

Michael’s roster of celebrity clientele over the years has included Venezuelan supermodel Patricia Velasquez; TV host Maria Menounos; cosmetics icon Bobbie Brown; actresses Candice Bergen, Robin Tunney, Elizabeth Shue; and Broadway legend Patti Lupone.

In 2003, Michael and his partner Michael Crowley created their namesake salon in downtown Chicago, an award winning space cherished by clients for its blend of luxury and calm. Michael & Michael is still thriving today.

Since his untimely death from pancreatic cancer in 2021, Michael is fondly and widely remembered by all the lives he touched so personally and so deeply, including his loyal clientele who still return for the unmatched talent of the team of experts he so diligently created and cultivated.

Today, we keep his legacy alive by relentlessly pursuing his vision of excellence, and his unyielding vision to provide opportunities, through our training program, to educate and inspire the next generation of hair experts.