This year's New York fur shows were definitely a good news/bad news situation. The good news? More exciting fashions in step with what mainstream designers premiered back in February. The bad news? Far fewer and less spectacularly produced shows slated two weeks later than normal.

Five shows presented collections from seven designers June 5-6: Royal Chie; Buonuomo; J. Mendel; Oscar de la Renta; Halston; Mark Montano and Ekso. In addition, a fur trade organization held a cocktail party featuring a display of designs from several collections on still mannequins.

Only society furrier Dennis Basso stuck with his original May 22 date, locked into his time slot at the Pierre.

That's down from last year's 10 shows with 15 designers. The previous year saw even more shows.

So why the downhill slide, despite the fact that U.S. fur sales were the strongest they've been in over a decade (see story elsewhere on furs.com home page)?

The prevailing complaint was lack of budget. If that was really the case, then is somebody fudging the numbers? Or is the manufacturing business shifting even more overseas and to Canada?

Whichever the case may be, another common complaint was that there are fewer retailers in North America to attend the shows, not to mention to buy the collections. Remember, when Birger Christensen purchased Evans, Inc., in bankruptcy court last Thanksgiving, the single company took control of fur salons in Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Dayton's, Hudson's, Marshall Field, Rich's, Goldsmith's, Lazarus and Filene's Basement, a near-monopoly of the country's department store fur salons.

It was therefore not surprising that all six of the furriers holding shows in New York City between May and June also have a retail business of their own.

With furs at a zenith of popularity, however, one would imagine other stores besides specialty fur retailers would be interested in attending as potential customers for fur manufacturers. But this expanded fashion market is all but impossible to reach with the traditional, late timing of the fur shows -- not to mention this year's even later dates. The rest of the retail fashion industry purchases fall merchandise much earlier, in February or March, when the ready-to-wear shows are held.

Another common frustration, however, is that the major fashion magazines more often cover furs by recognizable designer names like Gucci and Fendi than by relative unknowns like J. Mendel and Royal Chie. That's despite the fact that top publications in this category like Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, W, Elle and Town & Country support furs strongly in their editorial pages and descend upon Seventh Avenue furriers with a vengeance this time of year to encourage advertising.

Despite these challenges to future fur shows, it was a creatively successful season for New York furriers. They caught up with their more high-profile fur-designing brethren and sent down the runways furs that have more to do with fashion than with a decades-old sense of luxury. And, they threw in some seductively simple pieces, better to prevent alienating the more conservative fur consumer.

Fur manufacturer and Fifth Avenue retailer Alexandros presented three collections -- Halston, Mark Montano and Ekso -- over breakfast opening day. The Halston and Mark Montano presentations, produced through license agreements with those designer companies, largely recapped the furs from their February ready-to-wear shows (see earlier story on furs.com).

Ekso, designed by Alexandros creative director, Athanasios, was energetic and sexy and a little quirky. In places, I couldn't help thinking of Foxy Brown, who attended Alexandros's store opening last fall, as an influence on Athanasios -- who has a music background himself. Key looks included a shocking orange knee-length fox chubby set even more askew with teal snakeskin circular inserts and a teal snakeskin belt; a gray and black mohair skirt was topped with a swirl of black fox winding up the torso; a scarlet persian lamb short coat narrowly skimmed the body, cinched by a black leather belt and trimmed in black leather with a black fox collar and matching scarlet persian lamb tote. For real rock-star glamour, Ekso offered a floor- scraping fox diva coat mixing scarlet and silver fox for a feathery mix of black, silver and flaming red.

Gus Goodman, popular for its fur restyles, reinvented itself by presenting its second Buonuomo collection by David Goodman. Buonuomo ("buon" means good and "uomo" means man in Italian; get it, Goodman?) is based on a wardrobe of the finest quality Italian cashmere coordinated separates with fur trims in luscious colors like boysenberry, chinese apple and buttercup. In its sophomore year, the collection matured impressively, blending in a clever lipstick-dyed raccoon stadium coat, detachable fur pant cuffs, a dyed mole dress and some easy leathers.

Afterward, David Goodman swooned over a positive review from his mentor, the legendary designer Pauline Trigere, age 93, a major presence at the show.

Royal Chie, an elegant and succinct collection by Japanese designer Chie Imai, is also in its second year showing in the U.S. The Japanese ambassador to the United States was in attendance, as well as a cluster of Japanese television media, who chronicled one of the first forays into the North American market by this Japanese superstar. Her flagship store in Japan is located in the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, from where she caters to the royal families and Japanese celebrities.

The Royal Chie collection focuses on a unique fur-working technique called Mosaique de Chie, which combines pastel shades of dyed furs in reversible mosaic-like patterns with specific themes each year. This year's theme was Aurora, especially evident by wave graphics in sheared mink coats, capes and jackets. The distinctively Japanese designs become more accessible to Western tastes, however, when the collection progressed into simple dyed mink jackets, sometimes reversible to a super-glossy leather.

The real strength of the Royal Chie collection, however, was a selection of white-dyed finnraccoon spun like gossamer on floating little tops, a cape and vest. You won't find these anywhere else. That also goes for the best-done Russian lynx belly designs of the year, too. Instead of the '80s-style overwhelming coats done in this most expensive of all furs, Chie used a light hand in short capes or stoles and trimming a fairytale white mink hooded jacket.

J. Mendel was the only furrier not to host its premiere in its showroom -- or, in Mendel's case, its Paris, Madison Avenue or Bergdorf Goodman boutiques. The retailer sent out 92 looks when it took over Cipriani on 42nd Street and went all-out with trendy styling (coordinating leather separates, especially), hair (Farrah flips) and makeup (heavy eyes). Given all designer Gilles Mendel had to work with, I couldn't help expecting a little more innovation out of the furs.

In any case, there were definite strengths to Mendel's collection, including a camel sheared mink coat that looked lighter than air, a rough-edged sheared and grooved and belted buff-colored mink coat, a pair of form-fitting broadtail lamb bell bottoms, and a refreshing pink sable-trimmed sheared mink coat with unfinished edges. Not incidentally, Mendel presented the strongest group of men's furs anywhere -- at least eight pieces that were structured simply and didn't look like they were women's coats simply refitted for men, the way most men's furs do.

Dennis Basso, whom regular furs.com visitors already know as New York City's high society furrier, as usual offered as much of a show in the audience as on stage; Ivana and Neil Sedaka again were in the front row, along with Star Jones and columnist Liz Smith. Following his tradition of hiring a celeb guest-model for the finale, this year Natalie Cole made a beaming appearance.

While Basso's diamond-encrusted ladies raved just as loudly as ever, this year's show felt flat and completely out of touch with the rest of the fashion world. Of 108 pieces, only some shots of color and a group of luxury fabrics mixed with fur looked new. A black-and-white plaid coat and pants ensemble with fox collar was thrillingly dramatic and in step with fall 2000's uptown chic, as was a cream devore alpaca full-length coat with oyster chinchilla collar and cuffs. Basso's Russian broadtail evening ensembles are always elegant for the ladies who lunch, punched up this year in powder blue and marigold.

As for the rest, however, Basso seems determined to answer the question, How many ways can you make a sable coat without doing anything new?

Other furriers presented their collections by appointment in their showrooms.

Guillaume Poupart's collection for Ben Kahn was right on target with this season's freshest trends as well as offering some simple stalwarts for long-time customers. Poupart proved he's the best in the market at young furs, presenting a black and white, graphic argyle rabbit topper, a honey and white inverted V striped rabbit belted short coat with honey-colored leather inserts, a chic but slightly naughty bleached lipy cat (looks like leopard but isn't illegal or endangered), and a pair of chinchilla-look black and white rabbit pieces, vest and jacket, with silver fox accessories. These could have come off the runway of the best and most famous of designers.

Jerry Sorbara, who designs exclusively for Neiman Marcus, took some of the season's strongest themes and blended them into his somewhat timeless, wearable shapes. The news here was sable paired with silk brocades, gold cross fox in an easy little vest, a black persian lamb or black fox short coat worked with interspersed squares of black patent leather, several cross mink garments dyed a textural gold, cinnamon or teal blue, and his "Mae West" bombshell coat in black swakara with a black fox portrait collar.

Imperial Sable, one of the few sable specialty houses left in North America, showed that it's possible to make expensive sable garments in current, if not too trendy, styles. A sporty, short Russian sable poncho with pointed hems reversed to brown and gold silk poplin. Just as casual was a Russian sable vest that fell over the hip with a belt optional. For evening, there was a remarkable, wave-worked Russian golden sable stole reversed to French silk chiffon cut velvet, as well as a long silk chiffon scarf with jet beads trimmed in burgundy dyed sable, which just happened to complement a long, burgundy-dyed Russian sable coat.

Anne Dee Goldin has finally come out of the shadow of the many famous designers, for which her family fur company has always produced furs. Goldin-Feldman has been known over the years for its furs by Narciso Rodriguez, Anne Klein, Geoffrey Beene, Yves Saint Laurent, and Karl Lagerfeld for Chloe. She seems to have learned a thing or two along the way, but by no means has she sacrificed her own style.

Goldin presented her own collection of carefully tailored fur sportswear that's on the cutting edge of fur technology using lightweight, reversible pelts. Standout everyday wear included a tan persian lamb jacket piped with luggage leather and reversible to a casual napa finish; shearling so fine and lightweight she calls it sheared beaver quality, which could fool almost anyone into thinking it's micro-sheared mink; and an embroidered sky blue shearling trimmed in tibetan lamb.

Sherry Cassin, a newcomer to fur design, launched a collection of impossible-to-resist fur impulse buys. Focusing on less expensive furs like knit lamb, rabbit and goatskin, Cassin takes a sportswear approach in short jackets with strong color stories and coordinating separates and accessories.