In what could be considered some epic trolling of Indigenous people across the country, the Hudson’s Bay Company announced Thursday that the fashion label Dsquared2 will be dressing Canada’s athletes at the Rio Olympics opening ceremony this summer.
Dan and Dean Caten, the twins who make up Dsquared2, came under fire last year for their #Dsquaw line of clothing.
As reported by the CBC, the duo described the collection on their website as “the enchantment of Canadian Indian tribes. The confident attitude of the British aristocracy. In a captivating play on contrasts: an ode to America's native tribes meets the noble spirit of Old Europe."
After raising more than just eyebrows during the Milan Fashion Week in 2015, all references to the line were deleted from Dsquared2's social media.
Squaw is a loaded term. It comes from the Algonquin words for woman, iskwe, skwew and skwe, but since colonization it’s been “corrupted” and used as an offensive slur against Indigenous women.
The Catens will now be working with HBC, the official Olympics team outfitter, and according to a statement will bring their “passion for our birth country mixed with the energetic spirit of Dsquared2" to the designs.
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