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.
