By Consuelo Romeo (That's Shanghai)
Updated: 2006-09-13 13:54

Denim is once again taking a prominent role this season, thanks in part to the success of Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. That said, the fashion industry has long had a bit of a soft spot for Wild West wear, perhaps best exemplified in the enduring image of James Dean in Giant posing in dirty jeans and a white t-shirt. This year, equally cute denim-clad butts are de rigueur, and so are cowboy boots, snap-button shirts and big old belt buckles.

In New York, Ralph Lauren has been very successful with RRL, a line of clothing with a vintage Western feel. Marc Jacobs, one of the Europe's hottest designers, has obviously researched the Wrangler archives and reinvented some classic cowboy wear from the late 1940s and early '50s.

DSquared, on the other hand, a very unconventional Italian label designed by a Canadian duo, has indulged its buckaroo fantasies with a Summer 2006 collection featuring denim pants, boots, broad hats and even a leather apron to keep your jeans clean while you shoe your horse. This nostalgic cowboy collection has been one of the season's best sellers in Italy and around the world. "The cowboy is the guy version of the 'blonde'," says Dan Caten, one half of the DSquared design team. "It's a classic icon of manliness; all guys relate to it."

As part of the cowboy look, vintage denim, Western hats and brown boots are back in town. The boots themselves are also, for the most part, available in traditional styles.

But the current fashion is to individualize your style with, say, a tiered skirt dipping below the knee, and a classic plain white t-shirt worn under a denim waistcoat. The boots come in a wide range of materials from soft leathers, including ostrich, lizard and snake, to unidentifiable petroleum-based products.

DSquared is available at IT shops in Xintiandi and Plaza 66; Wranglers retails at Raffles City, West Gate Mall and Pacific Department Stores. YAPSH stores (601 Yongjia Lu and 98 Jiangsu Lu) carries a big range of cowboy boots, leather belts and satchels.