13 posts tagged "Dsquared2"
The School Of Dsquared²
For most high school students, the books have closed on this academic year and summer is now in full swing. Not so for Dean and Dan Caten’s co-eds—the Dsquared² designers, who staged a full-on high school prom at their Fall ’12 show in Milan, continued with the theme for their latest Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott-lensed ad campaign. The short film (debuting exclusively here on Style.com today) is an ode to teen rebellion in the sixties, featuring the designers and a very good-looking crop of students, including models Benedikt Angerer, Simon Van Meervenne, Liuk Bass, Ralf Javoiss, Daphne Groeneveld, Frida Aasen, and Bette Franke. Though they are sporting the label’s sweeter-than-usual offerings for Fall, like button-downs, brushed mohair sweaters, and cropped pink pants, don’t be fooled—they are up to no good. Watch the full film, shot at London’s Ragged School Museum, to see what they’ve got up their sleeves.
To Canada, With Love From Dsquared2
Yesterday afternoon was a busy one along the Rue Saint-Honoré: As the new Balenciaga store shed the last of its protective taping, up the street at the Dsquared² boutique, Dean and Dan Caten welcomed friends who popped by to check out their new handbag line—make that lines, starting with the Montana bag spotted on the runway in February. Although made in Italy, the bags, like the boys, sport Canadian names and flourishes—there are colorful totes bearing Canadian provinces, birds, and maple leaves, and a motif that would do Sandra Dee proud, with its bouffanted dolls, pearl necklaces, lipstick, nail polish, and the odd cigarette. The Quebec comes in four colors and may be the official flagship bag, but Dan confesses to a preference for the ultra high-end Toronto bag (pictured) in croc and suede (Dean, for his part, likes the paper-bag-style Kimberly in nappa leather). A tartan moment aside, men’s bags are strictly utilitarian, with cargo pockets, oiled canvas bodies, and expandable shapes on some models (as unrepentant heavy packers with a thing for shoes, these designers know that every extra corner helps). And regardless of gender, dual cell phone wielders will appreciate the ubiquitous twin pockets inside. But before they pack for Mykonos, and even before the men’s collections, the Catens are heading back to the classroom to offer us all a brief tutorial on how to work those sparkly high heels (more to come on that later—stay tuned on Style.com). Look out for the bags in stores in mid-July.
LIVE FROM MILAN: DSQUARED2
The Dsquared² live stream starts at 3:30 a.m. EDT / 9:30 a.m. Milan, right here on Style.com.
Death Becomes Her?
With his Spring ’09 menswear collection, Alexander McQueen helped kick-start a trend for skulls and skeletons. (Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier kept skulls top of mind for those tracking a different fashion demographic.) And then, as with all gluts, it seemed that the moment had passed—we’d seen just one memento mori too many. Who needed to be reminded, after all?
But it looks like we called it too early. Bones are back, baby—and not just on scrawny models. (Hold the jokes and the harangues, please.) At the Couture shows, Riccardo Tisci was thinking of “a romantic way to see death”—hence the bone-shaped zipper pulls, the skeletal jewelry, a tiny skull nestled in the back of a satin jacket (left; check out our slideshow for a closer look). Jean Paul Gaultier was on the same page. He spoke of a bare-bones approach to couture, and then, the final look: Dita Von Teese in a barely-there corset resembling nothing so much as a glittering ribcage. For a gala of ghouls, you could pair it with Dsquared²’s spinal-column heels from Fall ’10—or, for a little more coverage, one of the skull instarsia knits from Lucien Pellat-Finet, whom you might call the elder statesman of the trend. He’s been playing with skulls for more than a decade.
At her Paris men’s shows, Rei Kawakubo dedicated nearly her entire collection for Comme des Garçons to the theme. Skull-laden lads (with heads painted to suggest the craniums beneath) wore suits, shirts, shoes, and even dresses printed with the motif. And from the arena of pop—literally—Lady Gaga had her finger on the (undead) pulse last night for her first-ever show at Madison Square Garden. She donned a bone-fingered glove during one of her many costume changes.
Skeletons—back into the closet? Click here for our slideshow of bony looks.
Everything’s Bigger In Texas, Even The Deconstructed Disco Ball
Decades‘ Cameron Silver knows a thing or two about wealthy women in fabulous dresses. The vintage couturier was in the thick of them last night at the tenth anniversary bash of Dallas’ designer mecca Forty Five Ten. He reports from the front lines, below.
The traditional tenth anniversary gift is tin or aluminum. For the tenth anniversary of their Dallas store Forty Five Ten, Brian Bolke and Shelly Musselman (pictured) kept to the glittery spirit, if not the letter, of the law. Bolke and Musselman hosted the gala in a gold lamé tux jacket from Dsquared², and a mirrored Margiela gown, respectively. Musselman said what we were all thinking: “In our heart of hearts, don’t we all really want to be a deconstructed disco ball at the end of day?” Well, maybe what some of us were thinking. She paused and added oracularly: “It sees everything.” As for Bolke, he let his Moschino tee do the talking: “Shop.”
But shop they did, of high-end European labels and exclusive tenth anniversary items by attendees Doo-Ri Chung, Narciso Rodriguez, and Koi Suwannagate. (Carry a designer for a decade or so and you’re bound to rack up a few favors.) DJ Lucy Wrubel’s silver Moschino mini, embossed with the phrase “Fashion Must Go On,” certainly inspired the hundreds of loyal clients to drop their Centurion cards, at least when they weren’t juggling flutes of Dom Pérignon or pork hors d’oeuvres three ways (taco, tempura, and slider—this may be fashion, but it’s still Texas).
At 10 p.m., Raven Kauffman (in vintage Mila Schön), Suzanne Wilson (in DVF), and I headed to Kenny Goss and George Michael’s Highland Park home for more Champagne and a viewing of their amazing British art collection, including works by Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, and an amazing Angus Fairhurst gorilla displayed by the pool. The party continued, and close to midnight, the last guest arrived: the pizza boy. The famished crowd went wild. McQueen-clad Houston social Becca Cason Thrash confessed, “It’s Domino’s, and it’s divine!”