Dan and Dean Caten are the Canadian-born twin-brothers behind the fashion label Dsquared2
Posted by Lucky on Dec 31, 2009
Dan and Dean Caten, the twin-brother team behind the fashion label Dsquared2, have shows on TV and radio; they created concert costumes for Madonna and Britney Spears; and they’ll be outfitting the headliners at the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
They have a collection of branded MAC cosmetics as well as eyewear and fragrance deals. But any time it seems success might go to their heads, they remember their modest Canadian roots and have a good chuckle. They also communicate in a shorthand that takes other people in the room a little while to understand. “We are twins in every sense of the word,” Dan says. Dean claims he’s “taller and thinner,” sucking in his cheeks and striking a model-worthy pose.
They’ve been close since the day they were born in 1964 in Willowdale, Ontario, and have wanted to work in fashion for almost as long, Dean says. They grew up in a household with nine siblings. Dan says, “With five sisters, “… we did a lot of shopping, dressed them for a lot of proms and parties. “… They trusted us because they knew we knew better” than they did.
On the way to launching their careers, the first stop was a summer program at Parsons School of Design straight out of high school. But before they knew it, they were back in Canada, coaxed by the owner of Ports International (now known as Ports 1961), where they learned how to cut a pattern, tailor a jacket and critique their own work. On a local
scale, they were a success, but the brothers weren’t satisfied. They set their sights on the European runway or bust.
“We chose Europe instead of New York,” Dean adds, “because it was not so easy to come back home.”
They started in menswear in 1994 and added womenswear in 2003. Their new spring collection has a campfire vibe, presented on the catwalk with “Delta Dawn” by Helen Reddy blaring through the speakers. They put together the playlists for their runway shows while sketching designs. Their famous soundtracks led to XM Radio’s “Dean and Dan On Air: Style in Stereo,” and now they host Bravo’s new “Launch My Line,” which gives artistic professionals a chance to break into the fashion biz.
source:http://www.mercurynews.com/fashion-style/ci_14089489
