Who is DSquared2?
Sex appeal, glamor, & the burning desire to be where you belong have been the foundations for identical twins Dean & Dan’s brand, Dsqaured², for 29 years now. Dean & Dan Canten were born in Canada on December 19th, 1964. Since birth, the duo felt drawn to the world of fashion. From dressing their sisters & brothers' girlfriends to staging fashion shows featuring Rihanna; their spirit forged a path in life and cemented their place as fashion icons.
Being the youngest of nine came with the gift of a diverse perspective for Dean & Dan. Their siblings were rock & rollers, disco queens, & hippies who influenced the pair's worldview. In 1983 the twins started attending Parsons School of Design but only stayed for a semester before returning home. Still, their ambition kept them moving forward. This ambition brought them to Ports 1961 (formerly Ports International). They started as junior assistants but by 1988 they had become creative directors. All of this while creating brands DEanDAN & Tabi International, both of which didn't last long. Port 1961 eventually was bought out and the pair took their talents to Milan, Italy. Here they not only tapped into the Italian roots their father erased from their last name (formerly Catenacci) to fit in but also where their careers started taking off.
Dean & Dan were 27 years old in Milan working for Diesel and Gianni Versace. They learned the craft of garment construction & manufacturing under both fashion houses' tutelage. Diesel founder, Renzo Rosso, later invested in the twins around 1994. Dsquared² was founded a year later in 1995. By 2001 they designed over 150 tour pieces for Madonna's Drowned World Tour and "Don't Tell Me" music video. This led to them unveiling a women's collection in 2003. Successful collection after successful collection brought the brand to runway shows. Their shows were key in Dsquared²’s social success, ultimately placing themselves on the global fashion stage. Use of theatrics, well-thought-out sets, and show-stopping looks leveled up Dsquared² every season. From Naomi Campbell opening a show to Christina Aguilera undressing male models– the twins' ingenuity knew no bounds. GQ even awarded them Men of the Year breakout design in 2003. The world was now seeing what the twins always knew.
By 2007 it was obvious the twins refused to let their dreams slip from their grasp. Commercial success led to them opening the first flagship Dsqaured² store in Milan. They also won "Men of the Year" again with Spanish GQ. In the same year, Rihanna walked a show where she came out to her hit song, Shut Up & Drive. As Dsqaured² approached 2013, the brand had made over 200 million in revenue. Dsqaured² was here to stay. Dean & Dan were now living in London and manufacturing in Italy. The brand slogan, "Born in Canada, living in London, made in Italy", was born from their experience. Similar to everyone, the twins were not perfect. They struck controversy in 2013 while wearing racially insensitive costumes to a Halloween party. From their neck up they appeared as white drag queens with large blond wigs, but below were painted brown whilst adorned in tribal costumes. They struck controversy again in 2015 by unveiling a "DSquaw" line. Critics quickly let them know how untasteful it was to use the term "Squaw", a derogatory term for North American indigenous women. This campaign was later taken down everywhere.
These diverse experiences of highs and lows continue to inform their design ethos. There is an ultimate truth that rings throughout the twins' story despite bumps in the road: You can change. This is a theme of the twins' most recent collection, F/W ‘24, where identical twin models walked to Change by Tears of Fears and then changed twins/looks after passing through a door. Despite what seemed like several setbacks– Dean & Dan forged their path. Their story shall go on to inspire the next generation of fashion icons as they change.