SimplyAbuDhabi XII

2 4 6 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I T he Fashion world’s favourite twins, Dean and Dan Caten, have carved out a privileged place for themselves since the start of their career in 1984. The youngest of nine children Dean and Dan grew up in suburb of Toronto, Canada. They both gravitated towards fashion and creating different looks even as kids, and were known to design varying ensembles for their sisters. Once adults the inseparable brothers made the big move to the Big Apple and attended the Parson’s School of Design. In 1991 they relocated to Italy, where in 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 theatre. Fast forward ten years and they are still making waves. Their intelligent combination of irreverent Canadian wit and refined Italian tailoring remain 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 betweenMilan and London, create their collections in Italy: “Born in Canada, living in London, made in Italy” Their new Spring/Summer 2014 collection is marked by their usual irreverent and playful traits. There are plenty of shorts, some of them short shorts, matched with tailored denim, brightly coloured leather biker style jackets in shocking pink and eye- catching turquoise, and a sturdy array of big beefy boots. There’s also a 50s thread running through the collection, and at the shows the music blares out Buddy Holly and hit songs from the musical ‘South Pacific’. The perfect accompaniment to the strutting models clad in tiny surf shorts, cropped linen pants and weathered khakis. Beach chic was a strong presence and chunky island foliage prints are splashed on shorts and shirts. Fabrics are understandably lightweight, ranging from delicate cottons to fine double-sided waterproof fabrics. The formal wear was surprisnginly less playful and displayed some real traditional class, albeit with some signature pizzaz from the twins. Silk tuxedo coats with repetitive prints and black lapels were teamed with shiny black ankle length tuxedo pants. As always there were some striking leather pieces, with buckle boots, two- tone baseball pumps and biker jackets accented with zebra print. The summer wear was all dressed up with ethnic, rustic charm and baubles with bamboo beads and seeds paired with canvas bags trimmed with leather detailing. All ideal for summer holiday fun.