Fashion-designer twin brothers Dean and Dan Caten of the Italian-based luxury label Dsquared bring new meaning to the phrase 'take two'.
While most celebrity siblings try to distinguish themselves from one another, the Canadian-born twins are often in matching outfits that play up the fact that they look so alike, it is difficult telling them apart.
At the end of their autumn-winter 2009 women's show in March in Milan where Dsquared is based, the twins strode down the catwalk together in coordinated white shirt, bowtie, vest and jeans.
Life! spoke to the twins ahead of the opening of their first standalone Dsquared store in South-east Asia at Ion Orchard last Tuesday.
The youngest of nine siblings - they have five 'disco queen' sisters and two 'rocker' brothers - they tend to complete one another's sentences and, at 44, still banter the way kids do.
'I'm the older one by 15 minutes,' Dean tells Life! during an exclusive face-to-face interview at their flagship store along posh shopping street Via Verri in Milan three days after the show.
'And with 12 more wrinkles,' the younger Dan quips.
Their highly popular brand of "city grit-meets-glam fashion" is flaunted by celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Madonna.
Tinseltown has warmed to the energetic, candid brothers who were crowned Best Designers of the Year by men's lifestyle magazine GQ Germany last year. In 2007, they made their debut MTV appearance in Black Eyed Peas frontwoman Fergie's Clumsy music video. The same year , pop princess Rihanna made her catwalk debut in their spring-summer 2008 fashion show.
The twins' business is as devoted to the entertainment world as to its clothes. Since launching in Milan in 1994, the label has grown into an international name with its distinct brand of style that fashion website Style.com's Nicole Phelps describes as 'Olsen-twins chic'.
The autumn-winter show featured models sashaying down the catwalk in a mix of denim, plaid, leather and fur, toting Starbucks coffee or checking their Blackberrys.
The New York Times' Alex Hagwood singled out the brand's 'strict allegiance to all things pop'.
Says Dean: 'The collection is inspired by the young Hollywood kind of girl - she has money, likes fashion and doesn't dress like her mother. Think Lindsay Lohan or Nicole Richie.'
The brand's retail stores are also a spectacle for the eye - just visit its new boutique at Ion Orchard.
'Not bad company,' he says, when told it is located next to Louis Vuitton.
Modelled after the Milan flagship, the 1,868 sq ft unit boasts dramatic floor-to-ceiling mirrored walls, chandeliers made of moose antlers and a facade of stacked pine logs that pay tribute to the brand's tagline: 'Born in Canada, living in London, made in Italy'.
The store is managed by Singapore-based fashion retailer Kwang Sia and is the brand's eighth in the world.
'We want the shop to reflect us - who we are, where we come from,' says Dan. 'It shouldn't be intimidating. It should be warm, friendly and chic. It should make you feel comfortable.'
When asked about what they are cutting back on during the recession, Dean says in jest, 'The enemy - food. Don't become a Jessica Simpson.'
'Imagine: The recession helps Jessica Simpson stop eating,' Dan chips in, clearly amused.
Despite their jokester ways, the Catens certainly seem to have a firm grip on themselves. While declining to reveal figures, Dan says they are 'down in numbers sold but up in the amount of money'.
'The surprising thing during this recession is that the stronger, more expensive pieces are selling better than the basics,' he explains.
For these brothers, fashion is one thing they would never give up.
Says Dean: 'Clothes can make you feel good and bring you up.'
Then in true E! Entertainment fashion came the irreverent one-liner: 'That and a good tub of ice cream, of course. We would never give up ice cream.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
