Milan wasn’t ready for what Dsquared2 brought for its 30th anniversary show. In the one hour and 47 minutes I spent inside an incredibly inconvenient warehouse outside the city center, I saw Doechii, I saw JT, I saw Naomi Campbell and more of Isabeli Fontana than I thought possible. I saw a death drop roller skater, three guys dressed as KISS, an homage to Cher, an homage to being hot and not giving a fuck, and my friends the designers Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee of Vaquera. I saw a synecdoche of New York complete with street signs (meet me on Fashion Avenue!) and signage (“Looks like 2 Bros Pizza,” said my seat mate).
Lots to see, and even more to feel at the Dsquared2 celebration of 30 years being sexy and scandalous. Vibes management is not a chief concern at Milan Fashion Week—this is a city of tradizióne and eredità, where the perfect stitching of a leather bag matters more than how many of the guests you can get dancing at a fashion show. The Dsquared2 twins are less about the craft—though their clothes are incredibly well made, just look at those ice skate heels holding up 20 years later—and more about showmanship, which is a relief in Milan’s sometimes too self-serious schedule.
Things began with the smell of Diesel. No not the brand! That was the next day. Whiffs of real gasoline popped up pre-show and I whispered to my seat mate, “What if the models rode in on motorcycles?” Even better, they actually rode onto the runway in vintage automobiles. Doechii opened in a signature Dsquared2 look—who else does such a freaky bomber—and then came a bevy of supermodels in looks that referenced the ’70s, ’80s, and ’00s, all bare waists, sheer tops, super-skinny jeans, nearly every outfit punctuated by a platform boot. By the time a roller skater sashayed out and into a flip, the crowd was cheering.
Guests included the famous (JT) and the fabulous (a woman in a nipple chain bustier), who partied into the night. As I snuck towards the exit I passed Vaquera’s DiCaprio who declared the show, in which he and his co-designer Taubensee had done four collab looks, “hot.” Then came Venus Williams: “I loved it!”
And I loved it too, a fashion show that embodied the crazy hoopla of being freaky and fab for 30th years. More 30th birthday should be like that—especially if they end with Brigitte Nielsen dressed as a hot cop arresting you. ACAB, except sexy Brigitte.