http://www.thestar.com/living/article/655917 - pics at link.
Lightfoot tunes on the cat-walk!
INTO THE WOODS
TheStar.com
Glam-ping: When high fashion goes to Algonquin Park
STEFANO RELLANDINI / REUTERS
During this week’s summer 2010 menswear fashion shows in Milan, happy campers Dean and Dan Caten celebrate Canada’s great outdoors. Email story
Jun 25, 2009 04:30 AM
Derick Chetty
Star Stylist
Go big or go home. The Dsquared2 twins prove they can do both.
For their spring/summer 2010 menswear show early Tuesday morning in Milan, Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caten paid homage to their homeland with a riff on one of this country's favourite summer pastimes, camping.
The elaborate backdrop, set with trees, canvas tents and models playing guitars, featured a long dock instead of a runway.
Buff models were ruggedly attired in camping gear – albeit a lux, and ultimately very expensive version of the shorts, jackets and rubber boots readily available at Toronto outdoors stores.
The label's campy take on wilderness chic in Algonquin Park included plaid shirts, cargo shorts, hoodies, nylon ponchos, long johns, rubber boots and thick socks with Birkenstock-type sandals.
But what separates this from the stock at an army surplus store is that tongue-in-cheek Dsquared2 DNA. Tuxedo jackets were paired with those cargo shorts; a white bathing suit had glittery black ants pinned all over it and shorts came with long johns – attached.
Their keen attention to detail has always coloured their career. The models had Band-Aids stuck to their knees and the show's soundtrack blared Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot.
"When we wave our flag, that's what makes us different," says Dan Caten by telephone from Milan before the show. "If we wave it or honk it, it helps people to remember and notice us."
The world has noticed – and so has Canada. In September, the twins will be awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
It's just more star power added to the firmament in the growing Dsquared2 galaxy this year. The brand will be further catapulted onto a global stage as designers of the outfits for the performing artists in the opening and closing ceremonies at the Vancouver Olympics.
"It's major!" Caten exclaims. "This is the most rewarding thing – representing our country on an Olympic level."
The designers have added a sunglass collection and a men's fragrance, Rocky Mountain Wood, to their family of perfumes. The brand is also busy opening shops, including a grand opening in Cannes during the recent film festival.
The Catens have never recoiled from the limelight, actively seeking partnerships with Hollywood types. For past shows they've hired celebs such as Christina Aguilera and Rihanna to work the runway.
In September, they will serve as hosts on Bravo's new reality show, Launch My Line. Filmed in California, the Project Runway-type show will pair established designers with pop culture personalities to design a collection. "It's good for us – it introduces us to a lot of people in North America that don't know us as yet."
The jet-setting designers may have gone Hollywood, but their hearts still belong to Canada:
"We're pretty proud campers."
Algonquin Park/camping/fashion/Lightfoot
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