"I never watched Project Runway"

A/N: There's a mention of the twins here. Regarding the content mentioned in the article, I don't think any of us heard anything about them tossing Dsquared clothes along the corridor, as what the Caten twins have said. So we're gonna label this information under rumors, as well.

Also: thank you fanofth for linking us to this article!

UNTIL someone figures out how to make a fashion design reality show for TV without a runway, resident judges and weekly eliminations, comparisons will be inevitable. 

It's little wonder why critics see the genre's latest entry, Launch My Line, as a poor knock-off of Project Runway.

After all, the wildly successful Emmy-winning Project Runway started the trend in 2004 and is now into its eighth season. 

A similar series, The Fashion Show, where 15 unknown designers compete for a chance to retail their collections, was panned when it aired in the US in 2009.

It was hosted by fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, supermodel Iman and singer Kelly Rowland.

But Launch My Line host and judge Dan Caten, who is also the founder of high-end fashion label DSquared, was unfazed by such criticism - even though there's no word about a second season since the first one ended in the US in February last year. 

We're different, 47-year-old Caten insisted in a phone interview with The New Paper.

Speaking from Italy where he's based, the chatty Canadian told The New Paper over the phone: 'I guess the thing with Project Runway is (like Launch My Line) it originated from (US TV network) Bravo.

'Launch My Line is about building a line and creating a brand.

Different focus

'It's not about creating one dress a week (like Project Runway). Each item has to correspond with the next item. So the challenge is more about building a brand and line rather than just making a dress.

'We're looking for an identity and continuity in a designer. Our focus was making sure they had a cohesive identity throughout each garment. I think that's where we're the most different (from other fashion design reality shows).' 

Anyway, Caten claimed he has 'never watched Project Runway'.

'I don't really care about what others think.'

Launch My Line premieres over Sony Entertainment Television (SingTel mio TV Ch 20) on March 1 at 9pm.

It features 10 professionals - among them are a fashion writer, an architect and a choreographer - who have zero knowledge about fashion design but aspire to build their own clothing line.

They are paired up with 10 established fashion designers such as Roberto De Villacis and Jim Tanner, who act as their mentors. 

The winner will have his clothing line launched and the expert designer will receive US$50,000 ($64,000).

Caten's identical twin brother and DSquared co-founder Dean, who's older by 15 minutes, is also the host and judge of Launch My Line. 

The younger Caten claimed that he and his brother 'balance each other out' and are 'pretty much on the same page'.

Misunderstanding

But at last year's Audi Fashion Festival (AFF) in Singapore, the brothers were said to have had a run-in with another set of identical twins - German rock band Tokio Hotel's Kaulitz brothers.

DSquared had previously created concert outfits for lead singer Bill Kaulitz, who opened the label's menswear autumn/winter show in Milan last year.

The talk was that Tokio Hotel thought the band was supposed to perform during AFF's DSquared fashion show, but the Kaulitz twins ended up watching the presentation from the front row and performing only after it.

Apparently, things became so heated that the twins allegedly threw DSquared clothes along the corridor of their hotel.

Dan Caten dismissed the AFF episode as 'a misunderstanding'.

'There was no falling out. We didn't know they were coming. It was a surprise for us that they ended up there.

'We didn't have anything for them to wear so we felt very disorganised. It would have been good if we'd known.'

As for the Kaulitz brothers throwing out DSquared's threads, Dan Caten claimed this was 'new to me'. 

In any case, DSquared can still count on other celebrity fans, from pop divas Madonna - for whom the twins created 150 outfits for her 2001 Drowned World Tour - to Rihanna. 

There's also Lady Gaga, who was a guest muse on Launch My Line, where she commanded contestants to design an outfit for her using red patent leather. 

Although the singer has worn DSquared's avant-garde designs before, DSquared has nothing to do with the alien-like cocoon from which Lady Gaga emerged at the recent Grammy Awards show.

Caten hadn't watched the Grammys but said that she looked amazing on the cover of the current issue of US Vogue.

'She's definitely a phenomenon. She's the modern-day everything.

'We're huge fans. We love her.'

Source: The New Paper