In a major strategic change Dsquared2 has ended its long-time licensing agreement with Staff International, the key operating company of Italian fashion billionaire Renzo Rosso. Who, in turn, has already sued the designers in response.
However, six hours after DSquared2 announced the termination of its long-time licensing agreement with Staff International, the licensor sued the fashion house for breach of contract. The conflicting statements suggest that this issue looks like becoming a major court battle pitting one of Italy’s largest fashion empires and one of Milan’s hottest runway brands.
“Dsquared2 Group announces the immediate termination of its licensing agreement with Staff International S.p.A. Consequently, the Group will assume direct control over the production and distribution of its Ready-to-Wear collections,” the Milan-based house said in a terse release Saturday.
“This transition takes effect immediately and will commence with the upcoming Pre-Collection Spring/Summer 2026 sales campaign,” added Dsquared2, which was founded by twin brothers Dean and Dan Caten over three decades ago.
Staff International is the key production wing of Only The Brave, the holding company of Rosso, which also owns Diesel, Marni, Maison Margiela and Jil Sander, as well as the manufauring license of Viktor&Rolf.
“Dsquared2 Group expresses its sincere gratitude to all those who have contributed to this collaboration and looks forward to fostering continued partnerships in the future,” the release added.
However, later Saturday, Rosso’s group responded forcefully: “Staff International reiterates its conviction that the license agreement is fully effective and confirms its intention to fully execute it until its natural expiry. Therefore, the company firmly rejects any possibility of early termination of the contractual relationship, and believes that legal conditions for early termination do not exist.”
“Staff International will continue to act with the utmost transparency and determination to protect its rights, honour its contractual commitments and safeguard its reputation, and reserves the right to take any further action,” it added.
The agreement – which is said to last 25 years, with Staff International dates back to 2002, and helped fuel the spectacular development of Dsquared2, the last runway brand in Milan to have grown into a major global fashion brand.
Born in Willowdale, Ontario, Dean and Dan Caten (Catenacci, originally) began their career path in fashion by moving to New York in 1983 to attend Parson’s School of Design. In 1991 they arrived in Italy where in 1994, after numerous collaborations with major fashion houses, they first staged their debut runway collection. It marked the first in a long line of runway extravaganzas that would capture the attention of journalists and buyers for their unique brand of fashion, music and theatre.
The Catens went on to build a multi-million dollar business. And to dress everyone from Madonna in her iconic western video clip, “Don’t Tell Me”, to Beyoncé for her Super Bowl performance. The duo also has an impressive range, all the way to dressing the four-time English Premiership Champions, Manchester City. And a great HQ, a former electric energy headquarters converted into office, show-space, inn, gym and rooftop restaurant with swimming pool. They have become one of the city’s great fashion institutions without ever losing the DNA of the Wild North. And famed for their ovations, where they take their bow in matching outfits – whether disco dragoons, Klondike trappers or matinee idols.
Leave it to the Canadian duo to stage an epic 30th anniversary show in Milan this past season, the cast marching out of a wrecked brick garage, or arriving in a series of mighty wheels. From armored personnel carriers and Ford Mustang convertibles to an all-silver DeLorean and a vintage Rolls Royce – all took turns arriving in the huge warehouse done up like a nightclub.
All of the Caten’s great archetypes got an outing. Mad saucy trapper girls in giant puffers and lots of legs; a trio of rockers with Kiss goth makeup but in three-piece suits; Klondike gold diggers off to an all-night rave; sexy vampy rock goddesses with bumster leather pants and fur coats with trains; and a beautiful black rodeo gal with mini cocktail made of bands of Western belts. Leading to the arrival with sirens of NYC police car, from which emerged a dominatrix leather police captain played by Brigitte Nielsen escorted two white collar criminals. You guessed it – Dean and Dan. Before, amid huge roars, JT and Doechii took the floor in a call and response duet surrounded by the entire cast.
Renzo Rosso’s fashion holding company OTB suffered a setback in 2024, seeing revenues fall 4.4 percent at constant exchange rates to 1.8 billion euros, recording EBITDA of 276 million euros and EBIT of 44 million euros. Retail (+7.4 percent), Japan (+16.3 percent) and North America (+13.3 percent) held up. Among the brands in the portfolio, Maison Margiela (+4.6 percent) and Diesel (+3.2 percent) performed positively.
In the past fiscal year, the Vicenza-based company sustained investments of 77 million euros, with a focus on the expansion of the retail network and major innovation projects.
The possible departure of DSqyared2 will be seen as a setback for Rosso, who has long praised the brand as a dynamic creative force. Like every season, Rosso sat front row at the 30thanniversary show in Milan on February 25th.
“Staff International will continue to act with the utmost transparency and determination to protect its rights, honour its contractual commitments and safeguard its reputation, and reserves the right to take any further action,” read the last paragraph in Rosso’s company statement.
Talk about the empire strikes back.
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