BEAUTY: Clothing--Dsquared2

The work of Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caten for their label Dsquared2 has always struck me as hit or miss...with their obsession with denim and sportswear, so often the collections end up feeling a little trashy, a little "suburban shopping mall." They present interesting collections now and then, but such highlights can be balanced out by such bombs as their offensive penitentiary themed showed (which can be seen nowhere on this site). So for their FW '24-'25 collection at Milano Moda Uomo, they showed a collection that was predicated on the idea of twins...literally and figuratively (the Catens are twins after all). And it turned out to be a delightful presentation.

Garments came in two versions: blue collar and glam. But the fun conceit was, a large sterile white room was fitted with a sci-fi, electrified "changing machine," and each model walked into the contraption grungy, dirtied and yes, trashy, but emerged sleek, coiffed, made up and glammed out. The theatricality of it is very entertaining. But I had an a-ha moment as I watched the first batch of blue collar/trailer park boys and girls strut through in knit ski hats, caps, and trapper hats of such large proportions as to be comical. That coupled with their exaggerated versions of blue collar wardrobe staples made me think, "This is so bizarrely cartoon-y." And there it was. Maybe that was the key I needed all along to unlock the Caten's approach to their work: it is all cartoon-y. And that's ok!

Check out the twins below and notice how some element in the trailer park side makes its way into the jet-set side...silver sequins, blue sparkles, black leather. And the Caten men were not excluded. At the end of the show--in the video embedded below--watch Dan take his walk as a DILF in a black sheer shirt, enter the "glam machine," and come out as Dean in full drag beat as supermodel Linda Evangelista...and Dean has some great legs!

https://www.dsquared2.com/us/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dsquared2

Well, here we are at Milano Moda Uomo, whizzing through fashion month...

We are looking at collections for next Spring-Summer 2023 and the Caten twins of Dsquared2 created a fun collection that couldn't be any more about summer. They were inspired by 70s beach and surfer culture but added a bit of Reggae spice in the form of a collaboration with the Bob Marley Foundation, which granted them permission to reproduce Marley's image on T-shirts, totes, and bags. The island vibe continued during the runway show with Jamaican native Grace Jones singing "My Jamaican Guy," "Feel Up," and her amazing anthem "This Is" for the show's soundtrack. The result is a mash up of beach wear, Asian sarongs (via Hawaiian surf culture), Western jackets, and a few pieces that one might have seen on So Cal surfers in 1974 like motorcycle boots and jackets (there was a sort of cross over between surf and motorcycle/car racing culture at that time). The result is a fun, easy retro-ethnic look.

https://www.dsquared2.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dsquared2

Now on to Milano...

The Caten twins' first priority when casting for their Spring Summer '17 presentation at Milano Moda Uomo was to see if the models could walk in towering platform shoes. Once they passed that test, they were dressed and in the show! And the glittering red, purple, pink, and silver platforms were the standout oddity in a show that referenced several overlapping English music/fashion movements like the Two-Tone Ska scene (black and white checks with porkpie hats), Skinheads (braces and bleach-spattered jeans), Mods (the classic fishtail parka here spangled with paillettes!), and even a flash of 70s Glam Rock (silver lamé pants à la Iggy Pop and a head of curly hair à la Marc Bolan...and of course the platforms themselves à la Ziggy Stardust). The Caten twins also explained that the collection was a celebration of their own homosexuality and came out for their bow wearing thigh-high black glitter platforms with rainbow ribbons in homage to those who lost their lives in the senseless slaughter in Orlando this week.

http://www.dsquared2.com/us

BEAUTY : Clothing--Dsquared2

The Caten twins at Dsquared2 created a tribute to Andy Warhol for their Spring Summer '15 collection at Milano Moda Uomo. They titled the collection "Stud2io"--the runway was a facsimile of Andy's legendary Factory in Manhattan, complete with "Superstars" and various hangers-on. A remixed version of the late Lou Reed's fantastic "Walk On The Wild Side" kicked things off.

A Warhol-esque silk-screened portrait on a tee peeked out from under a jacket, Warhol-illustrated cats played on a sweatshirt, one tee simply announced "ANDY," and yet another tee was a Dsquared2 version of Warhol's famous Campbell's tomato soup cans. But the Catens did not stop there, in the 60s and 70s; they also invoked Warhol related artists from the 80s. Stephen Sprouse is a legendary name in fashion: he came to prominence in the 80s, using signature day-glo colors and graffiti-style prints. His first collection was presented at the last location of Warhol's Factory, and later in his career he utilized Warhol's day-glo camouflage (with Andy's permission) which is now interpreted for a third time by Dsquared2. Sprouse was also famous for letters and words scrawled in a graffiti pattern which he used liberally on everything from tights to scarves and bags for Louis Vuitton. This graffiti print also made an appearance in the Caten's show, spelling out "Dsquared." And finally, we see some references to Jean-Michel Basquiat, a Manhattan painter who collaborated with Andy on some later works. Basquiat's cartoon-y, scratchy doodle-like, tribal art can be seen here on denim jeans and tees. For good measure, there were brightly colored buttons worn on shirts for a full 1980s effect. Although the references in this show spanned three decades, it all hung together remarkably well, thanks to the legacy of Warhol.

http://dsquared2.com

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dsquared2

Clearly, twin brothers Dean and Dan Caten looked to "The Wild Ones," British "Teddy Boys," and a healthy dose of Tom of Finland for their rockin' SS '13 collection at Milano Moda Uomo featuring leopard print, a bit of denim, leather caps, and lots and lots of chain jewelry. It's not new, but it's fun...

www.dsquared2.com/