Dean and Dan Caten called their new show La Nouvelle Noir, but it was nouvelle only in the way that everything old is new again. Their stage was a circa-1940s jazz club, their models were bebop hepcats, so recently de-mobbed that one of them was still wearing his khakis. The military precision of his outfit was reflected in the Catens' hyper-tailored coats and jackets in classic camel, gray flannel windowpane, and Black Watch tartan. The key jacket was the Napoletano, immaculately constructed but unlined, the quintessence of sartorial ease.
The Catens are never less than consummate showmen. They're less consistent as designers. But when their twin talents mesh, they come up trumps. Today's show was a convincing blend of haute menswear and high camp. (Bodies beautiful were shoehorned into clothes just that little bit too tight, to highlight their assets—the boys can't help it.) Dean and Dan tapped into Milan's current appetite for formal sportswear seasons ago—a denim and plaid shirt with a white bib-front was a sly reminder of that fact—so a pairing as distinctive as astrakhan and denim was second nature to them. That astrakhan signposted a new luxe edge in the collection. The paisley silk smoking robe might not be an obvious choice for Dsquared²'s usual customer, but he could be seduced by a dressy shirt or waistcoat artfully strewn with floral embroidery and jet beading.
