Kink is Coming Around Again at Dsquared2
Review of Dsquared2 Spring 2025 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Concluding day one of Milan Fashion Week Mens with their particular brand of showmanship, Dean and Dan Caten of Dsquared2 took us to the theatre. But while attendees may have been expecting some sort of night at the opera, we were given an invitation into the underground world of kink, made mainstream.
Opening with a performance befitting the space, a ‘Magic Mike’ style style group of dancers performed from cages which were lit up with red lights! A fitting way to set the tone for the collection to come which turned the heat up to boiling point on the Caten twins collection, that being said their collections are never short of a healthy dose of sex appeal.
But the addition of key signifiers from the kink scene was an interesting choice for the design duo, especially considering that many sub-cultures, even those around testing the boundaries when it comes to sex have had a very bright light shone on them thanks to social media. What once seemed risqué is now simply another form of self-expression, and we have got to a place where kink-shaming is actively called out. It is also true that we are at a point with fashion where harnesses and rubber have been seamlessly integrated into what we wear every day. But seeing a more edgy take for Dsquared2’s spring 2025 collection was an unexpected break away from the ingrained preppy, outdooring, or western wear which the designers have created a million-dollar business around. Considered more of a “sexy fashion mash-up” according to the shows notes, the references from the kink scene didn’t go too far out of the brands comfort zone, rather we got trench coats and hot pants in pastel-coloured PVC, and harnesses worn under sheer shirts.
A graphic T-shirt with the slogan ‘Homocore’ may have been the only mis-step as some may see the idea of sexuality being reframed as trend to be hashtagged to death on TikTok then discarded just as quickly as it emerged as a cause for concern.
THE BUZZWORDS
Kink comes out to play, camp meets the erotic, unabashed self expression
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #
Kink meets cowboy meets professional wrestler in the most camp way possible, a feat that only Dean and Dan Caten of Dsquared2 could pull off, marking the start of an edgy new visual language for the brand.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
What was presented for spring 2025 was comfortably Dean and Dan Caten’s world, from a brand standpoint, but also from the fact that they may also have been a part of those same underground scenes growing up. This leant an air of authenticity – albeit a glossy version – to what we witnessed in todays show, as more was explored than simple leather harnesses, it was all about the body as an object of desire, so it was bound – bondage-style – revealed through leather spliced trousers, amplified through muscle-baring wrestling bodysuits, and ultra low-rise denim which in some cases revealed latex panels to the back! All of which culminated in a combination of camp meets the unabashedly erotic, which perfectly served to add a new level of discourse to the Dsquared2 brand.
