"BACK TO THE ROOTS" — A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY INTO THE ORIGINS OF DEAN AND DAN CATEN
words by NIA TOPALOVA
Perhaps one of the most intimate projects Dean and Dan Caten have created for Dsquared2, “Back to the Roots” bares everything back to pure emotion, sharing the brothers’ cherished family photo album with the world and tracing their lives from childhood to today.
Before Dsquared2, Milan and the runways, there were two brothers growing up in Willowdale, Toronto, the youngest of nine children. Their story took them from Toronto to New York, and then to Milan, where Dsquared2 would eventually take shape. In 1995, they presented their first collection under the name Dsquared2. Fashion began at home; they would make clothes for their older sisters, experimenting with whatever they had around them and, from an early age, developing an instinct to create something of their own. The campaign brings those early years back into focus, placing childhood photographs alongside more recent portraits to create a visual timeline of the brothers’ lives.
“We wanted this campaign to reflect who we truly are, which is why we chose deeply personal photographs that genuinely represent us. Dsquared2 would never have existed without the unwavering support we’ve given each other since we were kids. This campaign is our tribute to the past and our promise for the future.”
More than thirty years after founding Dsquared2, Dean and Dan reveal a more vulnerable side of themselves. They come from a humble family, with no shortcuts offered along the way. At the heart of everything they have built is the love between two brothers and an unbreakable connection that has carried them from those early days to where they are today. The campaign takes away the fashion and leaves the brothers themselves: their family, history, humour, closeness, and the bond that has been at the centre of Dsquared2 from the very beginning.
