The charms of a largely ornamental male with lots of leisure time were subtly referenced at labels like Giorgio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna and Bottega Veneta; danced around at Prada; frankly noted at Gucci; and used as the stylistic cornerstone at Dsquared, a label whose designers, Dean and Dan Caten, seldom present a concept subtly if they can hit you on the head with it, like a safe pushed off a ledge.
The set for the Dsquared show may have looked like a goofy cut-rate copy of that in the gorgeously detailed Paul Schrader thriller “American Gigolo.” Yet the key details were in place: a ceiling-hung bar of the kind from which Richard Gere’s character, Julian Kaye, hung while exercising; the reflective chrome Modernist chaise longue; all the mirrors an occupational narcissist might desire. In Mr. Schrader’s Calvinist worldview, the gigolo is a hapless cipher, a soulless parasite. In that of Dean and Dan Caten, he’s a happy-go-lucky lug with plump pectorals, a stash of Viagra and a cushy job.
Rarely do the Catens miss an opportunity to haul the masculine archetypes out of the gender toy chest: Boy Scouts, cowboys, motorcycle gangs and truckers have all turned up at one point or another. Typically they play sexuality for laughs; yet here they were surprisingly affectionate in showcasing their gigolos in jackets with high armholes, and tailored longer than the customary kiddie-department length.
