Dirty Glam. DsQuared2 AW24

January 13, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

No one does a show in Milan like Dean and Dan Caten. Their autumn-winter 2024 DsQuared2 show was about the idea of twins. Who better than the Canadian brothers should have a say in the representation of “the two sides of the coin,” as they said backstage? Drawing upon their own reality of being a sort of day-and-night double version of each other offered the Catens the occasion for an entertaining show – fun, uplifting, with the right amount of camp and lots of maximalist mashed-up styling. The cast was obviously made of sets of twins, one of which was dressed in Dsquared2’s typical grungy daywear; upon entering a “makeover machine,” the other twin emerged glammed up in the evening version of what the first was wearing. The set, a shiny white box, served as glossy backdrop for the finale coup-de-théâtre, with the Catens taking their bow – Dan looking macho in fitted black jeans and an alluring see-through glittery chiffon shirt, and Dean playing the diva in a flame-red hairdo and black corset dress slashed at the front revealing a great pair of legs, teetering with consummate confidence on ultra-high stilettos. They brought the house down. As for the clothes in the co-ed show, there was great outerwear of the outdoorsy, furry, and fringed variety; fabulous distressed and patched denim; fair isle knits, cargos, destroyed tees, trapper hats, and sequined chaps, all jumbled together and styled with slinky abandon. For evening, black dominated, with body-skimming and plunging necklines for the girls, and sultry slim tuxes with femme undertones for the boys. Haley Wollens’ styling makes DsQuared2 look hotter than ever. Fashion for the Catens is going in just one direction: sexy, sassy, with humor to spare, and entirely guilt-free.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Raunchy Hot! DsQuared2 SS24

June 17, 2023June 17, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Nobody serves raunchy hotness (and sex) in Milano like DsQuared2‘s Caten twins. The backdrop scenario from yesterday’s spring-summer 2024 fashion show: a penthouse overlooking Miami Beach where porn star Rocco Siffredi was (pretending to) film (what else?!) a porn movie starring Julia Fox enjoying herself (euphemistically speaking) with an unidentified partner on a four poster bed hidden from view (barely) by a screen. Guests attending the show were treated to the aforementioned vignette serving as the catwalk’s backdrop, with an aside of moaning by Donna Summer’s “Love To Love You Baby.” Everyone familiar with Dean and Dan Caten knows their irrepressible naughty, funny streak. But here they surpassed themselves. “It’s steamy. Sexual versus proper. WASP-y country club versus raunchy. Privileged upper crust trying out adult entertainment,” they chanted in unison. “Elites meet snob. Snob meets knob.” The collection was a barely-there rendition of the Catens’ 2000s mash-ups, reduced to a minimum of body coverage. Yet the humor made the bawdiness of the show outrageously entertaining. After an endless parade of preppy-golf-tennis wear hybridizations with plenty of exposed underwear (for guys) and a series of almost-in-a-state-of-undress minidresses, one skimpier than the other (for girls), out came Fox, clad in a virginal white lace babydoll, all frills and ruches (an homage to ’90s porn star Cicciolina perhaps?) But the cherry on the over-the-top cake was the finale, with Rocco Siffredi taking to the catwalk and opening his blue blazer to reveal a red T-shirt emblazoned with the acronym V.I.P. – Very Important Penis. I’m here for sex and fun having a big return to fashion, and DsQuared2 leads the game.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Teenage Madness. DsQuared2 AW23

January 14, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

I just love it when DsQuared2 goes naughty, sleazy, hot and unapologetically DsQuared2. While other brands are trying to desperately capture the Y2k style, Dean and Dan Caten don’t have tii force it – they simply have it in their blood. And with styling help of Haley Wollens, they delivered a great show on the first day of men’s Milan Fashion Week. “Teenage madness!” shrieked the Caten twins in unison backstage before the show. “We’re looking back to look forward, thinking of what we’ve done in the past, and the energy of the Dsquared2 rebels,” they said. “We’re celebrating what we were already pushing a long time ago – being yourself, being individual, and the freedom of feeling comfortable in your own skin. No judgment.” The Dsquared2 posse of teenagers flaunted a string of characters straight from the Catens’ dorm room years: the geek, the goth, the starlet, the emo, the femme, all in their own broken-up/put-back-together-again finery. The dorm room in question was actually meticulously reproduced as the catwalk’s backdrop, furnished with all the cool paraphernalia which has populated the teenage years of every generation, from X to Y to Z and everything in between. Describing the zillion combinations the twins were able to concoct would, in fact, be madness. To very partially summarize, Western fringed jackets, Canadian outerwear, crystal-studded destroyed denim, cowboy leather jockstraps, ultra-low slung cargos, exposed boxers, teddy bear bombers, lace panties and see-through camisoles were put into their fashion percolator, spit out and re-assembled into beautifully body-revealing crazy ensembles. “Playing with girl things, playing with boy things, nothing is hotter than a hot guy in girly panties!” they enthused. “So we kind of went there. Openness! Playfulness! Courage! And no judgment.”

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Men’s – Surf-Board. DsQuared2 SS23

June 19, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Then ride it with my surfboard, surfboard, surfboard

Graining on that wood, graining-graining on that wood.

For spring-summer 2023, DsQuared2 went surf-boy-mode. Dean and Dan Caten’s layering extravaganza inspired by surf culture and 1970s Jamaica is just what a stinking-hot summer wardrobe needs and wants. The Catens worked with the Bob Marley Foundation, which granted them permission to reproduce a portrait of the reggae genius on T-shirts, beach totes, and bags. “We liked the vibe of that time, and the freedom and rebellion he represented,” they said backstage. “Peace and love, and the joy of music.” From the Jamaican flag they extracted bursts of color punctuating the sporty pieces they excel at, while cool formal options were styled imaginatively in well orchestrated chaos, as in the collection’s hero ensemble: a sloped-shoulder evening tux or checked blazer worn with a low-slung tie-dye sarong, or over multicolor printed beach pants. Each passing season, the Catens’s layering reaches new heights – with Vanessa Reid’s masterful styling help. It’s a fun formula that they’re able to articulate with gusto, keeping it rather fresh and entertaining. Another collaboration, this one with Honda, energized biker jackets and various patched leather pieces with a ’70s flavor. They added a tougher spin to the mellow, quirky surfer look of slouchy striped knits, humongous bermudas in printed nylon, and patchworked flares with appliqué marijuana leaves.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Spiritual Wanderer. DsQuared2 AW22

March 1, 2022March 1, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

The Dsquared2 spiritual wanderer is a peace and love messenger. “Times are calling for something coming from the heart,” Dean and Dan Caten said. “Let’s come together in harmony and unity, protecting freedom. Peace, love and freedom, that’s the only message.” The Catens have perfected the maximalist mashup, with layering elevated to an art form. Describing every look of the autumn-winter 2022 collection would take ages, as their mastery of fashion combination is not only inventive but meticulous. “Every outfit hides a memory, a talisman, an amulet found during a journey,” they said. Charms, dangling bell chains chiming at every step, and healing crystal necklaces were part of a hippy wanderlust wardrobe grounded in great oversized outerwear, puffy, outdoorsy, inventively engineered and hybridized. There’s lots of method in the Catens’ apparent madness. Knitwear was one of the collection’s standouts, chunky, enveloping, mostly proposed in striped folksy patterns. It was worn over flowy short apron dresses layered over tartan kilts or cargo pants, or over ultra-washed, extra-fluid denim pants. Blanket coats and ponchos, fake fur coats, and an array of tops, printed dresses of various lengths and unspecified layering pieces were mixed together with creative abandon. It made for a fun, lively outing, a welcome jolt of energy and optimism.