Dean and Dan Caten, the Canadian-Italian twins behind Dsquared², are shamelessly intent on filling the high-octane sex, fun, and vulgarity vacuum that has appeared in Milan lately. They invited their audience to an ersatz house party, where a series of competitively undressed girls got down with a posse of buff guys. Hot tub included, naturally.
The device allowed the twins to sample genres at will, from hot-as-hell denim to Studio 54 tux pantsuits to flash-it-all jersey gowns. It's all been done before, many times and in more-sophisticated forms, at Versace, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana. What made this forgivable, though, was the real thought beneath all that pastiche. The Catens have put their mark on enough pieces now to qualify as brand builders. One is their low-riding cropped jean with its signature cut; this season, that appeared in a leather Western-stitched version. Then there are the great sporty jackets, too, like one pieced together from brown cotton drill and lime and black nylon. And occasionally, there's an entirely new twist on a basic. Right on time for the season's Eastern trend, they've grown a gray hoodie into a floor-length Indian caftan. That's genius.
