Dean and Dan Caten’s show was about—surprise!—the idea of twins. Who better than the irrepressible Canadian brothers should have a say in the representation of “the two sides of the coin,” as they said backstage? Drawing upon their own reality of being a sort of day-and-night double version of each other offered the Catens the occasion for an entertaining show—fun, uplifting, with the right amount of camp and lots of maximalist mashed-up styling, which in today’s flat-as-the-Atacama-desert fashion landscapefelt rather refreshing.
The cast was obviously made of sets of twins, one of which was dressed in Dsquared2’s typical grungy daywear; upon entering a “makeover machine,” the other twin emerged glammed up in the evening version of what the first was wearing. The set, a shiny white box, served as glossy backdrop for the finale coup-de-théâtre, with the Catens taking their bow—Dan looking macho in fitted black jeans and an alluring see-through glittery chiffon shirt, and Dean playing the diva in a flame-red hairdo and black corset dress slashed at the front revealing a great pair of legs, teetering with consummate confidence on ultra-high stilettos. They brought the house down.
As for the clothes in the co-ed show, there was great outerwear of the outdoorsy, furry, and fringed variety; fabulous distressed and patched denim; fair isle knits, cargos, destroyed tees, trapper hats, and sequined chaps, all jumbled together and styled with slinky abandon. For evening, black dominated, with body-skimming and plunging necklines for the girls, and sultry slim tuxes with femme undertones for the boys. Fashion for the Catens is going in just one direction: sexy, sassy, with humor to spare, and entirely guilt-free. Nuns and priests of the silent luxury cult had best steer clear.
