If cleanliness is next to godliness, Toronto’s Caten twins may be the Lord’s best children, after all. Their second collection post-lockdown—following a pre-collection—demonstrated a clarified and simplified side to Dsquared2. “Discipline is not a bad word,” Dean Caten declared on a video call from Milan, possibly echoing words he’s had to hear before. The little black dresses, delicate lace numbers, and strict monochrome tailoring the brothers presented in a moving pliage format on their Instagram Stories invoked the clean lines of the early 2000s, something they likened to a subtle dominatrix look. “She’s sexy in a Fräulein way,” Dean noted.
That idea was supported by refined harnessing details, transparent plastic sandals with straps wrapped rigidly around the calf, and authoritarian pencil skirts with seductive transparent sectioning. In other words, the sassy and often flamboyant Dsquared2 wardrobe had been reduced to a bossy, straight-to-the-point attitude. “It’s got more of a modern edge. It’s very ‘just right,’ you know? The right amount, the right pieces, the right things you need,” Dan Caten said. This was the conclusion they reached during lockdown in their house in Cyprus: clarity versus quantity.
The designers spent the period going for early morning runs on the beach, working out, and wearing little else than their underwear. “No one was making noise in the background,” as Dan put it. Minds cleared, they returned to Milan to design this collection freed from the fashion cycle’s hamster wheel of excess. “We worked too hard; we did too many things. This is what we really need,” Dean said, referring to the collection’s simplified approach. “Focus, focus, focus. And no pokus.”
In their stringency, these garments may make you stand a little taller, a little less at ease; they’re an ice-cold shower when you really need it, light-years from the sweats and comfy things trend forecasters are putting their money on after lockdown. “No, no chance!” Dean said. “People still like to look good and you need to let them. Let’s get back on the road, back on the sidewalk.” On the men’s side, that attitude manifested in the downright industrial: engineer zip detailing on a boiler suit, bondage trousers, stonewashed supersize jeans, and graphic zebra stripes borrowed from the women’s collection.
It did have the sass of Dsquared2, but in a sleeker way that meant business and suited their visual temper. “We kind of did staples. It’s condensed. It’s direct,” Dean said. “‘Where I am going and what do I need for it?’”
