Show Report
It was a picture-postcard whirlwind trip around the climes of Europe as immortalised in many a Hollywood epic.
Dean and Dan Caten of DSquared2 just love a cliche: studded 'Rocker', rugged 'Lumberjack', greased-up 'Lothario' - the bigger the sartorial quotation-marks, the better. And you can never accuse them of putting anything less than 100% into exploring whatever whimsical theme pops into their minds - from Broadway-worthy sets, to expensively evocative invites, to pun-packed palimpsests on every seat, theirs is a vision total and true. Well, not quite 'true'. The DSquared2 boys are tourists in whatever world they inhabit, faces pressed against glass - whether it be staring out into the real wide world, or against the television screen as voyeurs of fashion-as-film from American Gigolo through to Rocky Horror Show.
What film were they watching for Spring 2012? National European Vacation, perhaps? Certainly, it was a picture-postcard whirlwind trip around the climes of Europe as immortalised in many a Hollywood epic, taking in the unexpected locales of Mykonos, Finland, Rome and the backstage of some glam-rock mosh-pit (presumably that was in London, although the high-heeled glam rockers in question, boy band Kazaky, are Ukranian). How did Dean 'n' Dan ring in those changes? A giant revolving set of course, switching scenes and models from knit-wrapped fishing port to sun-drenched Iberian beach, to romantic rome rooftop and scuzzy back-alley, with costume changes to match each new vignette.
If you spend enough on a revolving stage set, can it justify cramming four completely disparate collections together into one? Well, just about. The clothes covered the DSquared2 basics satisfyingly, from distressed denim, to slogan-emblazoned tees, to colour-saturated summer tailoring and pornographically microscopic beach wear. It was brainless, painless fun, retail-friendly separates entertainingly dressed up with high-camp theatrics. And that's what DSquared2 does best.
