A PR rep at Dsquared2’s New York showroom confirmed that the monster platform boots from Dean and Dan Caten’s recent Spring 2017 men’s show—easily the most outrageous footwear of the season—will be produced and sold in the label’s own stores. In the wake of the Orlando attack, the gay-positive message of the designers’ Milan runway production resonated with a larger-than-usual crowd. “This is a celebration of our homosexuality,” the brothers declared backstage, and an Instagram pic of them arm in arm and wearing thigh-high versions of those platform boots was Vogue Runway’s most-liked post from the men’s collections by more than a factor of two. Their new Resort collection shares a feel-good vibe with that sprinkled-with–Ziggy Stardust men’s lineup: There are Lurex-shot knits; metallic leather spliced into jackets, cropped motorcycle pants, and a bustier dress; and, yes, also a pair of towering spangled platform sandals.
London, the Catens’ adopted hometown, was the loose inspiration here. The lookbook model is trussed up with nose and lip piercings, which will also be produced, the PR pointed out. But the designers’ melting-pot, all-inclusive approach left room for a few trucker hats and patchworked denim pieces that felt just as much American as they did British. Sequined camouflage also leaned this side of the Atlantic. The Dsquared2 boys are showmen, and they get a lot of attention for their more-is-more aesthetic. Their sleek black tailoring is relatively restrained compared to the rest of this collection. It may not generate the social media hits of those platform boots or the silly trucker hats, but it impressed this reporter.
