It’s all about the heat.
For Spring/Summer 2025, Dean and Dan bring to the catwalk a renewed sense of maximum multiplicity in the name of Dsquared2. The collection focuses on a sense of duality – elegance and boldness, softness and strength – but in doing so, creates one of the most unexpected mashups in the fashion system: a liberated community of artists, athletes, and aesthetes from the 1980s, an underground milieu that is both a poetic salon and a kink scene. Transparent chiffons drape the body, revealing snug leather bondage harnesses and minimalist bras. Denim transforms into sculptural latex; asymmetric tank tops in jersey balance brutalist geometry and soft bodily harmony. Models parade covered in leg-wrapping laces that hold the garments together. Outfits with oversized shoulders and voluminous pleated trousers evoke 1980s workwear ensembles, while leather motorcycle jackets and studded creepers invoke a nocturnal alter ego. The color palette is also anchored in the concept of desire: various shades of blush and powder blue gain further depth and delicacy in translucent fabrics like chiffon and latex, punctuated by occasional bursts of vivacity or metallic glimmers. As the collection progresses, a subtle sense of athleticism branches into various references to the glamorous, campy, and corporeal visual language of wrestling, playfully celebrating both its masculine strength and its preference for skin-to-skin contact.
“We try to maintain that sense of excitement, or at least try to dream about it: it’s more about theatricality than sexuality. Theatricality is within us. And if we didn’t have courage, if we didn’t dare, we wouldn’t be ourselves.”
Sadomaso gets chiffon.
Chains, cuts, and harnesses pay homage to Tom of Finland, but in this occasion “delicate and soft,” say Dean and Dan. It revives in every detail of the Dsquared2 show, from the costume placed on top of the maxi LaCrosse jerseys, motorcycle gloves, shoes, leather cuffs, boxer belts, and campy details typical of luchador costumes: now fashion and sport are uber alles. The uniforms cling to the underlying skin, contrasted by transparent shirts and studded shoulder pads, while cropped tank tops and several long, enveloping dresses play with the edges of the silhouettes. Latex jackets and star embroideries also reimagine cowboy clothing, through West-style buckled belts. V-necklines barely hinted at expand onto chiseled torsos, paired with miniature leather shorts and perfectly cut trousers. This powerful aspect of bold theatricality permeates every space occupied by the show and expands into all the environments of the historic Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber in Milan, also known as Teatro alla Cannobiana, built in 1779 with the intent of creating a dual theatrical system in the city: on one side the major theater, La Scala, on the other a smaller and popular theater, the Teatro Lirico. The soundtrack of the show channels the sensual freak-funk rhythm of Prince’s Lovesexy era, mixing glam rock, soul, and R&B into a finale that is a statement: the curtain closes with a white nail covered in chains on the back weighing fifteen kilos. The chest is bare, the face adorned with a boxing case.
