June 29, 2004

The invitation summoned the audience to Dick's Stag, a sure sign that Dean and Dan Caten were up to their usual tricks. A bachelor party was exactly the sort of shindig that would allow fashion's favorite prankster twins to indulge their appetite for excess. It gave them the excuse to dress a gang of groomsmen for everything from a game of football to a visit from a stripper (special guest Xtina Aguilera) to the wedding morning itself.

Dsquared's signature garment is a pair of jeans slung so low on the hips they have defined a new erogenous zone for the male physique, but what is often overlooked is the twins' surprisingly solid background: They paid their dues in the eighties making upscale career clothes for women. As a result, they know how to cut a jacket, and there were a handful of sterling examples in this collection, including the wedding tux itself. If the rest of the show occasionally felt like a rerun of past glories, the Catens' saving grace continues to be their steadfast refusal to take the business of fashion too seriously. The visual puns tucked away on T-shirts, sweats, and briefs never fail to raise a smile. They're the borscht belt comedians of Milan.

— Tim Blanks