Dean and Dan Caten are twenty-first-century vaudevillians, incapable of presenting a new collection without couching it in a saucy variety show. Today's revolving stage coughed up some sexy Scandinavian fisherman, a buffet of Mykonos beefcake, a couple of lower-the-temperature Roman ragazzi, a handful of droogy rockers, and Kazaky, four dizzy queens from the Ukraine whose post-Gaga get-outta-my-way-bitch shtick involved a gravity-defying dance routine performed in skintight leather pants and sky-high heels. Phew! Oh, there were some clothes shown, too.
And there's the rub. At this stage in the Catens' career, what they do shouldn't be so overshadowed by how they do it. Later this month, they're launching a purely sartorial "Classic Collection," which will highlight the fact that they're capable of great, straight(-ish) tailoring. Smart move, especially when the tailoring was positively refreshing amid today's hymn to the depilated male body beautiful. Their outerwear, too, continues to be a winning blend of form and function.
There's no doubt that the twins live the Dsquared² dream, which counts for integrity in its own OTT way. But while they're hiding their light under a great big homoerotic bushel that lost its wow factor a while back, it's hard not to feel they're selling themselves a little short. Maybe that's what the "Classic Collection" is about—a new kind of stature. God knows they've worked for it.
