When it comes to Dean and Dan Caten, even movie references can be unexpected. During a walk-through in Milan, the designers cited the 2023 comedy-horror film “Cocaine Bear” as the starting point for their latest effort, which once again celebrated the duo’s fashion staples and Canadian roots.
While the movie was loosely inspired by the true story of a black bear that ingested drugs, the Catens bent the narrative to prove no wild animal can mess with their woman’s style nor prevent her from pursuing her favorite activities in nature.
Outerwear was her best asset to this end thanks to flashy puffers, shearling-lined jackets in lumberjack checks, maxi fluffy faux furs, practical field jackets and shrunken corduroy options with a lived-in feel. Such an effect was replicated on a plethora of workwear pieces — from overalls tied at the waist to tight cargo pants — and distressed denim separates, amplifying the too-cool-to-care spirit of the Catens’ muse.
A range of hybrid items showed the duo’s penchant for mash-ups beyond layering, ranging from little hoodies blended with cropped denim jackets and chinos with underwear-nodding elastic bands and denim trimming. A leather biker-meets-shearling jacket stood out in its silhouette and charming cherry color, which added to the autumnal palette of amber, rust, brown and green hues.
Nods to the movie inspiration eventually surfaced in some details, with bear scratches marking the back of outerwear and knits or in the red-hued sparkly crystals covering denim pants to mimic blood stains.
A one-shoulder sequined minidress bearing claw tears played with transparency. The look closed a series of black eveningwear options in micro proportions, corsetry-inspired bodices and zippered teeny-tiny leather pieces that might be hard to sport in a Canadian forest but were effective enough to restate that the Dsquared2 woman is a wild (party) animal of her own.