Dsquared2 A/W 2014

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Girl, Interrupted - remember that 1999 film? Now imagine Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder strutting around the gritty halls of a psych ward in six-inch spike heels, wrapped up in mink with bed-matted hair coiffed in posh chignons. With that in mind, you may have an inkling of the humour-laden fantasy that unfurled across this season's Dsquared² runway. Twin brothers Dean and Dan Caten first introduced the looney bin lock-up as a set for their menswear outing last month in Milan, but they twisted it for the women's presentation into a completely different scene. First off, we were treated to a pre-show short video in which highly maintained women in cocktail dresses slowly unravelled in the confines of clinical bedrooms. Even Dean Caten made a cameo, literally crawling up the walls in high-heeled shoes. Most women let themselves go once shielded from the public eye but the Dsquared² models - both in the video and on the live psych ward set - were in their most elegant finery. Bathed in feathers, fur and oversized crystal embellishment, it looked as if they had a breakdown in the middle of a grand ballroom and were checked into the runway. This was without a doubt the most sophisticated and technically complex collection that the pair have ever produced. It proved that no matter how young at heart these two fun-loving designers are, they also know how to make some seriously grown-up clothes.

Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

JJ Martin