If it’s snowy outside, dress me in whatever it was the Caten brothers put on the Dsquared2 runway during Men’s Fashion Week in Milan. This co-ed AW26 collection reminded everyone of the brand’s freezing Canadian roots, its sexy mix-and-match tendencies, the upcoming winter Olympics, and… well, Ηeated Rivalry.
At Rubattino56, out where Milan starts to feel a little wild, models worked their way down the snowy stairs, backdrop and all, onto a runway that could’ve doubled as a ski slope. Guests were stuck behind a safety fence, watching Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams, open the show while making his debut. If Dean and Dan are as good at reading a crowd as they are at designing clothes, they also know exactly what grabs attention on a screen.
Back to the designing part. Lately, Dsquared2’s superpower has been its knack for putting impossible pieces together and making them look hot. Thankfully, that’s exactly what happened. Someone online said it looked like the walk of shame after Après-Ski parties, and I think if the duo ever heard that, they’d happily take it as a compliment. The collection was named “Game On”, do with that what you will.
If you think winter is about sensible layers, think again. Oversized puffers arrived in their absolute biggest form, some in anything-goes palettes, others bedazzled enough to blind you. The ’70s popped up via Dsquared’s Carrera ski goggles and jumpers plastered with winter athletes, basically vintage Olympics meets grandma’s knitting. Denim got a frosting treatment thanks to transparent sequins, making it look like someone had just sneezed ice on it. You could spot fur, denim, latex, nylon, wool, and leather all in one piece, and it didn’t look wrong, it looked ridiculously desirable. And don’t get me started on the hybrids. I saw boots that from the ankle up were ski boots and from the ankle down leather cowboy boots with metallic accents, belted corsets made of puffer, layered on top of jackets, on top of other jackets. I may have needed a moment to process it all, but joy was definitely in full effect.
By the time the show ended, I wasn’t sure if I’d just watched fashion or someone’s wildest winter daydream. Every look felt like it had a personality, and probably a better social life than me. But after the Dsquared2 duo went backstage, I wanted snow, chaos, and a puffer corset.
