Julian Kaye, Richard Gere's character in American Gigolo, was the man of the hour for Dsquared² designers Dean and Dan Caten. Audience members found Julian's eviction notice from the Beverly Hills Residence Apartments, plus his business card, on their chairs. Time for him to hustle—with Dsquared² ready to supply the wardrobe. It was a typically great setup from the twins, and they were faithful to their theme. The only problem? Julian's wardrobe was an expensive study in anonymity—in his line of work, it was a bad idea to stand out. So a pink shirt with immaculate boot-cut blue jeans was just about it. Likewise the check shirt and navy blazer, or the pale blue jacket with the apricot tee and white shorts (that would be Julian's rig for a call-out to a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel).
In the past, Dsquared²'s themes have given them full license to compose harebrained hymns to porn-star excess. And nobody did it better. This season, it felt as though the American Gigolo scenario was intended to give them a platform on which to display their grown-up aptitude for tastefully "classic" menswear. And if that's the case, then they could count the show a success. They know how to cut a silk mohair tux. But when even Brazilian super-mannequin Evandro Soldati, in a cream suit with lilac shirt unbuttoned down to there, looked tame, you could feel in your gut that, by the standards the Catens have set themselves, they'd missed the mark.
