- 1991 Arrival of Dean & Dan Caten in Italy
- 1994 Beginning of the men’s footwear partnership with Galizio Torresi
- 1995 Debut of the “Homesick Canada Collection” in Milan as their first menswear collection
- 1996 Runway debut of the beloved “Napoli” collection, inspired by the Neapolitan roots of their father.
- 2000 Dsquared² creates the wardrobe for Madonna's video, Don't Tell Me
- 2001 Madonna wears Dsquared² for the cowboy segment of her "Drowned World Tour 2001"
- 2002 Premiere of the womenswear line during the Spring-Summer 03 Men’s Collections runway shows in Milan
- 2002 Beginning of the partnership with Staff International
- 2003 Debut of the first womenswear collection, “Star 24/7”
- 2003 Dsquared² provides the wardrobe to Christina Aguilera for the “Justified & Stripped Tour 2003” in which she performs with Justin Timberlake
- 2003 Dsquared² wins the “La Kore” award, considered the “Oscar” of the Italian fashion world, for Best Emerging Designers.
- 2003 GQ Magazine’s “Men of the Year” Award as the Best Breakthrough Design Team.
- 2003 Beginning of the women’s footwear partnership with Vicini
- 2004 Design of an exclusive sneaker for the Olympic Games in Athens
- 2005 Dsquared² partners with UNICEF to solicit donations for the populations stricken by the tsunami.
- 2006 Dsquared² partners with “Deutsche Aids Hilfe”: collects funds for AIDS victims
- 2006 Dean and Dan Caten win Spain’s Aguja de Oro (Golden Needle) Award.
- 2006 Juventus Football Club selects Dsquared² to design its official uniforms
- 2007 Beginning of the women’s footwear partnership with Pollini.
- 2007 Start of the fragrance and cosmetics partnership with I.T.C., leading to the launch of Dsquared²’s first men’s fragrance “He Wood"
- 2007 Opening of the first Dsquared² mono-brand store in Milan.
Dean and Dan Caten, Canadian twin brothers from Willowdale, Ontario, came to Italy in 1991 with the goal of pursuing their love of fashion and realizing their dream of creating their very own prêt-à-porter collection. After several major collaborations, the first real opportunity for a potential spot in the international fashion hall of fame came along in 1994 when they brought a men’s prêt-a-porter collection to the runways of Milan, marking the first in a long succession of runway extravaganzas that were to capture the attention of the fashion world for their matchless combination of style, music and spectacle. From this moment on, the accumulation of successes will carry the Dsquared² brand, a witty play on the designers’ names “squared”, to the summit of luxury fashion.
On the heels of numerous accolades from the public as well as from international buyers, in June 2002, the Caten twins launched their long-awaited Spring-Summer 2003 Womenswear Collection. The following day, the prestigious trade publication, WWD, featured Dsquared² on its front cover and published a two-page interview, in which Dan said: “The Dsquared² woman is self-assured, vibrant and sexy –the perfect complement to our signature men’s look”. 2002 was also the year in which they began working with Staff International, which signed a licensing agreement enabling it to begin producing and distributing the label’s collections worldwide.
However, it was not until the Autumn-Winter 03/04 season that a full Dsquared² Women’s Collection debuted. To celebrate the event, supermodels Naomi Campbell, Eva Herzigova, Karolina Kurkova and Fernanda Tavares were featured as rock stars disembarking from a candy-pink private jet. The show generated yet another WWD cover.
An intelligent mix of "American Dream", irreverent Canadian wit and refined Italian tailoring, together with attention to detail are the foundation of today’s Dsquared² philosophy, which has given life to a unique new concept of alternative luxury.
Recently, Dsquared² collections have conquered a wider audience and, owing to their natural stylistic maturity, have become more chic and glamorous while maintaining those sexy and provocative traits so embedded in their creative roots: “Real clothes for real people”, –is how Dean and Dan Caten like to define their clothing. This evolution is also due to the continuous international inspiration received by Dean and Dan, who, while dividing their life and work between Milan and London, create their collections in Italy: “Born in Canada, living in London, made in Italy”.
One of the logical outcomes of the strong growth experienced by the brand is product diversification, with special emphasis on accessories, footwear and fragrance. In addition to Dsquared²‘s line of men’s footwear, produced by Galizio Torresi since the early days of the first collections, a women’s footwear line was introduced with the Autumn-Winter collection 04. It won immediate international acclaim and a guaranteed spot in the finest boutiques and in all major department stores. Beginning with the Autumn-Winter 07/08 collection Dsquared² has decided to have its women’s footwear produced by Italian shoemaker Pollini. In addition, a licensing agreement with I.T.C. for the production and international distribution of Dsquared² fragrances and cosmetics has just been signed.
Since the very beginning, Dsquared² has always attracted a following among international celebrities: Lenny Kravitz, Justin Timberlake, Ricky Martin, Nelly Furtado, Simon Webbe, and Robbie Williams are all devotees of the brand. But it is thanks to a lucky encounter with Madonna that the Caten twins were able to leave an indelible mark on the world of international show business: they were commissioned to create the artist’s wardrobe for her 2000 video, “Don’t Tell Me” and for the cowboy segment of her 2001 Drowned World Tour. “Designing for Madonna was a terrific opportunity, especially because she has always been a source of inspiration to us. It all started when she fell in love with a pair of our “dirty”, mud-colored latex smeared jeans and, before we knew it, we'd created 150 pieces for her tour and dance team. It was an unforgettable experience”, recalls Dan. Significant partnerships with the music world continued the following year with Christina Aguilera for whom the Caten twins designed her wardrobe and that of the dance team for the opening of her world tour, “Justified & Stripped Tour 2003”, featuring her with Justin Timberlake. A genuine friendship was struck and Christina agreed to appear on the runway as Dsquared²‘s guest of honor at the Spring-Summer 05 Menswear Show in Milan.
And Italy loves them, too: from Gianna Nannini to Laura Pausini, for whom they designed the outfits for her single appearance at San Siro Stadium as part of her Italian tour; numerous artists find that they cannot do without Dsquared² clothes.
Music, showbiz, cinema… the worlds inspiring Dean and Dan are endless: many friendships and collaborations were formed with the soccer world over the last few years, strengthening the Canadian twins’ love for sport. Having wrapped up various collaborations, in 2006, Dean and Dan Caten decided to exclusively create the new official uniforms for Turin's soccer club, Juventus –a partnership that is to last over the next four years. Help to charities also figures among the goals of Dean and Dan Caten. In 2004, they designed t-shirts for sale, the profits of which would eventually be donated to the Southeast Asian communities stricken by the tsunami; in 2006 they participated in “Deutsche Aids Hilfe” by contributing a denim and leather covered soccer ball for auction to raise money for the anti-AIDS effort.
International recognition has been significant: in 2003, Dsquared² received the “La Kore” award, considered the “Oscar” of the Italian fashion world, as the most original designers. The same year, they were named "Men of the Year" by GQ Magazine–USA as the Best Breakthrough Design Team. In 2006, competing among a slate of fashion designers renown for originality, Dean and Dan won the prestigious spanish award “Aguja de Oro” (“Golden Needle”); for the occasion, the brothers designed an outfit that will remain on display at the Museo del Traje in Madrid. 2007 is also to be an important year for Dsquared², from the inauguration of its long-awaited 5400sq ft flagship store, which is to open its doors in the heart of Milan's fashion district at No. 4 Via Verri, to the launch of its first men's fragrance on the European market.
Both boutique and fragrance will evoke the 360-degree Dsquared² lifestyle as envisioned by Dean and Dan: “A taste of home, where the Canadian woods meet Italian design”.
The Dsquared² lifestyle is most exquisitely expressed in the ad campaigns for which the Caten twins partnered with some of the most well-known fashion photographers in the world. For years the Dsquared² ad image was managed by Steven Klein, one of the most influential contemporary image artists, who was behind the shots for some of the most original and innovative ad campaigns in the last few years. But the Dsquared² image has since evolved in a more sophisticated direction, employing shots of Giselle Bündchen and Dennis Manzoni provided by Mert & Marcus for the Autumn-Winter 05/06 campaign as well as of super-sexy cowgirl Carmen Cass for the Spring-Summer 06 Collection photographed by Mikael Jansson. The last two ad campaigns were shot by Steven Meisel.
A wonderful dream has come true: the fashion world is becoming more and more Dsquared²!
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Photos courtesy of DSquared² and Getty Images