It’s a picture perfect day in a Canadian forest. The scenery is enchanting—autumnal foliage, air crisp. The Dsquared2 posse is enjoying fishing and hiking near their cabin. But all of a sudden a dangerous bear jumps out of nowhere, hungry and ready to attack. “It’s Terror in the Woods!” joked the twins Dean and Dan Caten at a preview.
It’s no secret that the Dsquared2 designers are attracted by the wickedly funny. “Outdoorsy, very Canadian—minus some scratches and drops of blood,” is how they envisioned pre-fall. What set the collection’s tone was the plot of the 2023 American horror comedy Cocaine Bear, in which a poor ursine eats a whole lot of the substance after it’s been dropped by a drug smuggler out of a plane flying over a forest. Much mayhem ensues. Not entirely hilarious and rather unsettling, the film was inspired by actual events that took place in Kentucky in 1985. Obviously, the mischievous Catens found it delightful.
As if the crazed bear tore its way through the collection, scratches were embroidered on patches and flocked on pockets of denims and cords, as well as on surplus lumberjacks, vintage-washed shearlings, and low-slung supersized chinos that had been artfully destroyed and ripped as if after a frantic run through the woods. Definitely the star of the show, a furry bear face was knitted onto chunky cabin sweaters and printed on roomy tees, on which pools of encrusted red crystals hinted at rather bloody face-offs in the not-so-idyllic leafy surroundings.
Outerwear in autumnal colors looked great. Hybridized and artfully distressed interventions here and there gave oversized puffers, felted wool raincoats, field jackets, and anoraks a sort of vissuto, or lived-in, quality. There was a bit of skin-bearing as well—in the Catens’ universe the outdoorsy feel runs alongside a cheeky undertone. Midriff-baring tops and ultra-mini minis for her, and hoodies slashed to expose the torso above cargos that sat low on the hips for him were all rather saucy. What happens in the lodge stays in the lodge. The crazed bear can wait outside.