One look at the 1996 VH1 Fashion Awards told the whole story: there, on the runways of a music video television program, were supermodels parading in fur. It might have been inconspicuous fur, but it was fur translated into a form palatable for a young audience, in the form of puffy collars on long, skinny fabric coats. These particular coats looked like they were designed by Versace, one of Fall '96's biggest proponents of fur trim.

But if you haven't had your head in the sand this season, you already have noticed that Versace was not the only international mega-designer who brought back fur in this way. A glance at almost any ad for the ultra-hip Gucci label was met with a photo of a thick fox mane on a white skinny cloth coat. Add fur trims by Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Emanual Ungaro, and you've got a full-blown trend story.

It had an amazing trickle-down effect. Young women who couldn't afford a mink coat suddenly coveted a discreet little fur "accent" on their basic winter wool. Even GenXers, who once sniffed at fur for its overtly luxury message, were slipping into something sultry. I asked some of my friends -- a few professionals in their early 30s -- what they thought about this turn of events, and what attracted them to this new style.

"Glam," "sexy," "fun," was what they said, "but I'm not spending $5,000 just to have fur in my life." What they could see spending, however, was about a thousand dollars for a designer knock-off to claim a little high drama and luxe, in the form of a well-tailored, fairly timeless suit jacket with a fur collar, styled to go to a power meeting or a dinner date. Or, maybe $1,200 for a classic wool military coat with a quality, lush fur trim. Forget cashmere. If they could get a fur trim on a wool coat, there's no way they would pay another thousand dollars for cashmere.

Of course, some people live for cashmere. And some people would die before wearing a knock-off. Whatever. That's not the point. It's the fur they were after. And now that they could have it, they had to have it.