The deal will cover all men's clothing and accessories by Milan-based D-Squared, whose founders and joint creative directors are Italo-Canadian brothers Dean and Dan Caten. The critically acclaimed team has not yet produced a women's collection, but designed Madonna's Western wear for her recent "Drowned World" tour.

This marks the latest move into fashion-forward designer fashion for the Diesel group. Staff International already produces and distributes two company-owned brands, New York Industrie and DieselStyleLab, as well as licensed brands Martin Margiela, 1, 6, 10, Vivienne Westwood Red Label and Man.

"I often expressed my admiration for the undisputed talent of these two young designers. Their explosive creativity perfectly mirrors my own idea of new pret-a-porter," commented Diesel Group President Renzo Rosso.

"We always thought we had much in common with Renzo Rosso: industry people always considered us, like him, "fashion rebels" and we strongly believe this cooperation between two non-conformists will be a winning success factor for the future of D-Squared," the Caten brothers said in a statement.