Dsquared2’s Dean and Dan Caten on coming together with Manchester City to celebrate the art of sportsmanship.
Dean and Dan Caten are no strangers to the competitive world of sport. Coming from Canada, sports culture is something embedded into the designers and their craft at Dsquared2, aiming to touch upon their roots. Having collaborated with football’s biggest names like Zlatan Ibrahimović - and now - one of the biggest football clubs in the world in the face of FC Manchester City, the Caten twins are always working on expanding the brand’s horizons, following few triumphant outdoorsy collections like AW22’s glamping moment.
Sticking true to the iconic Dsquared2 roots, the capsule features key brand signatures - denim, outerwear, baseball caps and sneakers galore. Capitalized, the words “Dsquared2 for Manchester City Limited Edit” are the focal point of each piece, with special hangtags and internal labels to mark this moment for the brand.
Speaking to Perfect about the meaning of this collaboration in sports, and how the competitive nature of football is integrated into their everyday lives, Dean and Dan Caten share more about the experience working with Manchester City, and the next project on the horizon for them.
Angel: Dean and Dan, what was your starting point in this collaboration, how did you approach it?
Dean and Dan Caten: We met for the first time Pep Guardiola during his coaching for FC Barcelona. He was able to quickly create a great synergy with us, and after some time we had the opportunity to start our collaboration with Manchester City in 2016, seven years ago. We thought that this year it was the time to celebrate this partnership with a dedicated capsule including denim, knitwear, outerwear and accessories that could take you from the pitch to the street. This capsule is true to our roots as it features our key brand signatures with two different logo designs. We have also thought of a special hangtag and internal label for the collection, featuring the words Dsquared2 for Manchester City Limited Edit.
Angel: What role do sports have in your life, and within your work?
Dean and Dan Caten: We are definitely sports fans! When in Milan, we always go to the gym located in the basement of our Milanese showroom, during winter we love snowboarding and in the summer, we love to do all types of water sports like wakeboarding. We also watch football games, in particular Manchester City’s ones of course!
Lately we have also been at the stadium to see the Champion’s League match Manchester City - Lipsia where Manchester City won 7-0! It has been such a moment!
Angel: What was your experience collaborating with Manchester City?
Dean and Dan Caten: Collaborating with such an amazing team is a pleasure and a source of inspiration for us. We truly admire healthy beauty of athletes and we do believe that sports is an element which is part of our DNA. Furthermore, Pep Guardiola who is the current coach of the team, has a natural and impeccable sense of style, along with many other sportsmen that we love to dress. Him and the team completely represent the Dsquared2 identity where self-confidence and strong attitude are among our main focuses.
Angel: How do you see Dsquared2’s relationship with sports developing in the future?
Dean and Dan Caten: We have done several collaborations with football teams in the past, even with players such as the Ibra BlackonBlack capsule collection done together with Zlatan Ibrahimović. Furthermore, we have the pleasure to dress several sportsmen in their private life occasions. Our relationship with sports will not be over anytime soon!
Angel: What are you most excited about for the rest of the year, professionally or personally?
Dean and Dan Caten: We have two important occasions that we will be celebrating this year - the 10th Anniversary of our Kidswear line and the 10th Anniversary of the opening of Ceresio7, the sports and restaurant complex next to our studio. We will show our SS24 co-ed collection in June during the Milan’s men’s fashion week. As for other projects, we cannot unveil them now, stay tuned!