“THE BEGINNINGS - Canadian twin brothers from
Willowdale Ontario,
Dean and Dan Caten have operated in the international fashion business since
1984. They moved to New York City on 1983 to attend the Parson’s School of
Design and on 1991 came to Italy where, on 1994, after many collaborations with
the most important fashion houses, they had their first men’s collection show,
marking the first in a long succession of runway extravaganzas that were to
capture the attention of journalists and buyers for their perfect combination
of fashion, music and theater. The intelligent mix of irreverent Canadian wit
and refined Italian tailoring, together with attention to detail are the
foundation of today’s Dsquared2 philosophy, which has given life to a unique
concept of alternative luxury. Recently, Dsquared2 collections have conquered a
wider audience and, owing to their natural stylistic maturity, have become more
chic and sophisticated while maintaining those sexy and provocative traits so
embedded in their creative roots. This evolution is also due to the continuous
international inspiration received by Dean and Dan, who, while dividing their
life and work between Milan and London,
create their collections in Italy:
“Born in Canada, living in London, made in Italy”.
DSQUARED2 AND MUSIC - The union of fashion and music is for
Dsquared2 unbreakable. Since the very beginning, Dsquared2 has always attracted
a following among international celebrities: Lenny Kravitz, Justin Timberlake,
Ricky Martin, Nelly Furtado, Simon Webbe, and Robbie Williams are all devotees
of the brand. But it is thanks to a lucky encounter with Madonna that the Caten
twins were able to leave an indelible mark on the world of international show
business. They were commissioned to design 150 outfits both for the artist and
her dancers for the video “Don’t Tell Me” and for the 2002 Drowned World Tour. The
success of Dsquared2 with Madonna’s CD launched the Autumn-Winter 03/04 season
with a full Dsquared2 Women’s Collection. Supermodels Naomi Campbell, Eva
Herzigova, Karolina Kurkova and Fernanda Tavares were featured as rock stars
disembarking from a candy-pink private jet. The following day, the prestigious
trade publication, WWD, featured Dsquared2 on its front cover and published a
two-page interview, in which Dan said: “The Dsquared2 woman is self-assured,
vibrant and sexy; the perfect complement to our signature men’s look”. Significant
partnerships with the music world continued the following year with the
undisputable pop queen Christina Aguilera who fell in love with the Dsquared2
style and for whom the Caten twins designed a wardrobe and that of the dance
team for the opening of her world tour, “Stripped World Tour 2003”. A genuine friendship
was struck and Christina agreed to appear on the runway as Dsquared2‘s guest of
honour at the Spring-Summer 2005 Menswear Show in Milan. Another significant
partnership was with the Italian singer Laura Pausini, for whom they designed
the outfits for her single appearance at San Siro Stadium as part of her World
tour on the 3rd of June 2007, when the artist performed in front of 70.000
people. On September 2007 19-year-old superstar Rihanna made her catwalk debut
at the show of the SS08 women’s collection. The bombshell singer sashayed down
the runway to the tunes of her hit song “Umbrella” in a revealing baby
doll-style dress by the twin design duo. Within the same period, pop star
Fergie came out with her video “Clumsy”, where the twin designers are featured
having fun accompanying Fergie down a fairytale catwalk during a mock fashion
show. In 2009 Dean and Dan collaborated with Britney Spears, where they created
the stage costumes for “THE CIRCUS STARRING BRITNEY SPEARS” world tour, which
began on March 3 2009 in
New Orleans, LA. The Circus Tour, Britney’s first arena
tour in five years, features custom designed DSQUARED² costumes for Britney and
her dancers for the first segment of the concert. Traditional circus characters
such as trapeze artists, clowns, and jugglers, were given a reinterpreted
aesthetic with provocative, sinister, and sensualised “sado” concepts. In
February 2010 the popular German rock band Tokio Hotel start their
International tour, “Welcome to Humanoid City Tour”, for which the Caten twins
have designed the stage costumes for the band and its lead singer, Bill
Kaulitz. Kaulitz also debuted as a model during the latest Dsquared2 Men’s F/W
2010/2011 fashion show.
RECOGNITION - In 2003, Dsquared2 received the “La Kore” award, considered the
“Oscar” of the Italian fashion world, as the Most Original Designers. Then in
October of 2003 Dean and Dan Caten were named "Men of the Year" by GQ
Magazine USA as the Best Breakthrough Design Team. In 2006, competing among a
slate of fashion designers renown for originality, Dean and Dan won the prestigious
Spanish award “Aguja de Oro” (“Golden Needle”); for the occasion, the brothers
designed an outfit that will remain on display at the Museo del Traje in Madrid. On December 2007
Dean & Dan were the winners of the GQ Spanish Award “Man of the Year”. The
event at its seventh edition awarded Dsquared2 as “Best designers of the year”,
due to “their ability to create casual looks while keeping the elegance and on
the other hand to have renewed the elegance” affirmed the GQ director Javier
Fernandez de Angulo. On April 17 2008 the prestigious international
organization Fashion Group International during the Night of Stars gala awarded
Dean and Dan Caten together with other 4 characters of Canadian origin who
distinguished themselves at international level for their contribution to
fashion, beauty and design. On November 13, 2008 Dean and Dan Caten were
assigned the prestigious recognition of “Best Designer of the Year” winning the
GQ Germany “Men of the year” award. The designers have been awarded with a star
on Canada’s
Walk of Fame the Canada Honour for 2009. The official unveiling took place in Toronto on September 11
and 12 2009. At the end of 2009 they were also nominated HEADLINE TALENT
COSTUME DESIGNERS for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010
Winter Olympic Games. In addition to dressing headline talent, Dean and Dan
also had the honour to run with the Olympic torch.
LICENSING - With the Fall/Winter ’02
“Homeless’’ collection, Staff International became the licensed worldwide
manufacturer/distributor of all Dsquared2 men and women’s clothing collections.
One of the logical outcomes of the strong growth experienced by the brand is
product diversification, with special emphasis on accessories, footwear and
fragrance. In addition to Dsquared2‘s line of men’s footwear, produced by
Galizio Torresi since the early days of the first collections, a women’s
footwear line was introduced with the Autumn-Winter Collection 04. It won
immediate international acclaim and a guaranteed spot in the finest boutiques
and in all major department stores. Beginning with the Autumn-Winter 07/08
collection Dsquared2 has decided to have its women’s footwear produced and distributed
in house. In addition, a licensing agreement with ITF for the production and
international distribution of Dsquared2 fragrances and cosmetics was signed in
March 2006. In
September of the same year Dsquared2 launched its first Men’s fragrance entitled
“He Wood.” While in April 2008 was launched the first Women’s fragrance: She
Wood. In March 2008 Dean and Dan Caten and the Marcolin Group, one of the
global leaders in the eyewear industry announced the 5-year licensing agreement
for the production and worldwide distribution of sunglasses and prescription
frames under the Dsquared2 brand.
ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - The Dsquared2 lifestyle
is most exquisitely expressed in the ad campaigns for which the Caten twins
partnered with some of the most well-known fashion photographers in the world. For
years the Dsquared2 ad image was managed by Steven Klein, who was behind the
shots for some of the most original and innovative ad campaigns in the last few
years such as FW02-03’s “Homeless”, SS03’s “Cottage Country”, FW03-04’s
“Star-24-7”,
SS04’s “Dean & Dan’s Dinner”, FW04-05’s “Great White North” and SS05’s
“Bachelor’s Party”. But the Dsquared2 image has since evolved in a more
sophisticated direction, employing shots of Gisele Bündchen provided by Mert
& Marcus for the Autumn-Winter 05/06 campaign as well as of super-sexy
cowgirl Carmen Kaas for the Spring-Summer 2006 Collection photographed by
Mikael Jansson. Since Spring-Summer 2007 Dsquared2 cooperates with the famous
photographer Steven Meisel who shot the advertising campaign both for the
clothing and shoes collections and for the fragrances, He Wood and She Wood. From
Fall-Winter 2009-10 Dean and Dan chose to cooperate again with Mert Alas and
Marcus Piggot who, for the Spring-Summer 2010 advertising campaign featured
super model Daria Werbowy, a Canadian icon who also presented the Walk of Fame
award to the designer twins.
DSQUARED2 STORES - In 2007 Dsquared2 had the
inauguration of its 5400sq ft flagship store, which opened its doors in the
heart of Milan's
fashion district at No. 4 Via Verri. Dean and Dan Caten collaborated with
Storage, a new Italian architecture studio who have worked with many important
department stores around the world, for the concept of the store and also the
headquarter in Milan
on Via Tortona 27. The boutique evokes the 360-degree Dsquared2 lifestyle as
envisioned by Dean and Dan: “A taste of home, where the Canadian woods meet
Italian design”. In September 2007, with the opening of the Dsquared2 flagship
store on Via Verri, came the partnership with GH Mumm which brought an
exclusive champagne bar to the new store. An innovative project which brings
together lifestyle and fashion. After the Milan
flagship store Dsquared2 opened in 2008 mono-brand boutiques in Capri, Istanbul, Kiev and Hong Kong. Next opening in early 2009 Dsquared2 boutiques
in Cannes, Moscow,
Dubai and Singapore.
DSQUARED2 AND SPORT - At the end of 2006, Dean
and Dan Caten decided to exclusively create the new official uniforms for
Turin's soccer club, Juventus – a partnership that is to last over the next
four years. “It was a pleasure for us to work with such an important historic
team as the “bianconera,” explained the Caten twins, “we were able to accompany
the team back into Series A with elegance. Today, the world of football is a
reality, even in fashion: the football players represent a new kind of beauty
which is healthy and realistic but above all, attainable.”
The Caten twins are continuing their adventure
in the world of football, branding for Fall-Winter 2009-10 the new “off field”
uniforms of Barcelona Football Club, the most loved and recognized team around
the globe (already winning five trophies in 2009, including the Champions
League Title, the most prestigious football tournament in Europe).
With this new and important collaboration,
Dsquared² has integrated itself into the world of First Division and the
legendary Nou Field. The new uniforms from the Canadian duo act as confirmation
as one of the brands most highly respected in international football. Dsquared²
is dressing the First Team, the Technical Staff and the Management.”
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