STYLEMAKERS OF THE YEAR
DEAN & DAN CATEN
Identical twins Dean and Dan Caten, founders and designers of Dsquared2, are best known for their low-lower-lowest–cut jeans and their explosive runway spectacles. The Toronto-born brothers, touted for bringing the party back to men's fashion, launched their men's collection from Milan in 1994, and nearly a decade later introduced women's wear and men's underwear lines. Their much buzzed-about spring 2009 runway show in Milan featured sleek suits and sportswear with preppy silhouettes and Run-DMC–era hip-hop flourishes on a nearly all nonwhite cast, while a runway show in 2003 included Christina Aguilera stripping the clothes off male models. When asked by the BBC to define their clothing lines, both said, almost in unison (which happens not infrequently), "It's hot and chic sportswear—but it's us." In 2008 their Hong Kong flagship store opened, joining their brand boutiques in Milan, Capri, Kiev, and Istanbul.