An motor revving up signaled the commencement of the Dsquared2 show. A young man with no shirt on emerged from behind a curtain, leading the way in an American muscle automobile. Pop sensation Rihanna, the singer of the popular summer tune Umbrella-was seated in the backseat. She made a few laps around her vehicle and gave her muscular chauffeur the keys before making a very convincing transition to the catwalk. She made good use of a black slip that showed off her toned legs and cantilevered her twin V8s up toward her clavicles.
Although there was a lot of skin for a 9 a.m. event, it was fairly regular fare for a Dan and Dean Caten affair—and somewhat subdued, given the construction worker incident from the previous season. The twins' loose theme extended beyond body-shop accessories to include party girls and the grease monkeys who adore them. This is why short halter dresses with crystal-encrusted necklines, sheer caftans paired with a cigarette, and cutout jersey dresses so revealing that the models had to tug at them to maintain decorum were all done for the amusement of the half-naked mechanics at the end of the runway.
But it wasn't just vaudeville and trash. Pieces of non-theme outerwear, such as a yellow trapeze jacket and a leather pod coat, appeared as though they might be popular off the runway. Retailers have developed a soft spot for the Catens because of products like those. However, that is obviously not the main reason fans attend a Dsquared2 performance. They come for the spectacle, for the cheap thrills that come with seeing a celebrity like Rihanna on the runway.
