Dsquared²

MILAN, September 28, 2005
By Hamish Bowles
The dirt runway scattered with sprigs of straw was a giveaway; those antic Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caten were throwing a barn dance—or, as they dubbed it, "a hee-haw hoedown." Their Dsquared² set's theatrical crimson curtains opened on a way-out West homestead, complete with hay barn, windmill, and an understandably skittish gray mare and her foal. Those Caten boys sure don't do subtle.

Their playful spaghetti Western, set to a rousing soundtrack that included a remix of Malcolm McLaren's 1981 single "Buffalo Gals" and twangy cowboy movie and TV themes, featured a cast of feisty, gun-totin' girls and frisky ranch hands. Witty ideas included flounced turn-of-the-century skirts in denim or 'bacca-color suede, denim dungaree-bibbed jodhpurs, horseshoe belts, and flirty dresses with a forties flavor (there was even an off-the-shoulder siren gown) appliquéd with rodeo-shirt detailing.

Chaps, aprons, and cummerbund belts were elaborately chased with saddlery-work details, while fringed suede jackets and gilets were decorated in imitation Native American beadwork. Of course, the Caten frères haven't neglected commerce; those OTT chaps flapped over pencil-leg jeans, and adorable shrunken denim jackets were worn with the trailing Aunt Eller skirts and granddad shirts. Finishing touches included those narrow black ribbon neckties so beloved of spaghetti Western costumiers.

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