Dean and Dan Caten Share Old Family Photos for New Dsquared2 Campaign

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For their Fall 2026 campaign, Dsquared2 designers Dean and Dan Caten chose to forego the usual “models wearing our clothes” thing — the brand’s sartorial signature is so strong fans of the brand almost don’t even need to see the clothes at this point — in favor of something more intimate, more personal, and a lot more vulnerable.

Titled “Back to the Roots,” the new campaign unfolds like a family photo album and traces the lives of the Caten twins from their childhood to the present day, featuring simple yet deeply evocative images that capture Dean and Dan smiling, embracing, and, as always, standing side by side.

Dean and Dan Caten

Rather than telling the story of a collection, the campaign tells a story of resilience and love.

Born in Canada in the mid-1960s, the twins were the youngest of nine children and suffered abuse at an early age.

Dean and Dan Caten

“We were nine brothers and sisters in a two-bedroom house,” Dan told British Vogue in 2018. “There were five boys in one room and four girls in another room.”

“Even when we got bunk beds we’d both sleep together in the lower bed,” added Dean. “It was more safe.”

Exactly what they were more safe from in that bed, they didn’t say.

Outside their home, the two were constantly bullied. “We came from a poor family,” said Dan. “We dressed badly. We were feminine. We were everything possible to pick on. And it was fun for everybody.”

In their misery, the twins turned to each other for support. “We were being beat up together, so we could cry together, we could hide together,” said Dean. “If we’re scared in the dark now, it’s because of that shit. We need to sleep together so if something’s bad’s going to happen I don’t have to scream. He’s going to be right there.”

Dean and Dan Caten

When they were teenagers, the Catens’ parents could no longer afford to take care of them and the Canadian government had to step in. The twins were shuffled between various foster families, and eventually placed with an abusive couple in Arizona.

Dean and Dan Caten

It was during this time that the two were forced apart, after the couple decided that Dean was too difficult to deal with and sent him away. The trauma of that separation, perhaps more than anything else the pair suffered in their young lives, had a deep and lasting impact on them, and once they were reunited, they resolved never to be separated again.

Dean and Dan Caten

“There was a moment in my life when I thought I was never going to see my brother again,” said Dean. “That will never happen again in our life.”

“We’re a stronger force together and fuck anyone who tries to divide us,” said Dan. “We’ve been divided and we will never be divided again.”

In spite of everything and against all odds, the two managed to build a global fashion brand. They couldn’t have done it without one another, nor would they have wanted to. And that’s exactly what the new campaign celebrates.

Dean and Dan Caten

“We wanted this campaign to reflect who we truly are,” said the twins via a release, “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.”