It's time to move last year's shearling coat to the back of the closet. Fashion insiders have just elected the talisman of this winter season: the inside-out fur coat. Think old clothes-y, raw materials and exposed seams. "Fur this year is being worn on the INSIDE," says Natalie Massenet, editor of fashion website, Net-a-Porter.com,"while the outside skins, joining seams and raw edged sewing are exposed. This years fur coat expresses functionality and beauty but it's less about the fur and more about the skins."

We've been seeing a more and more creative interpretation for fur coats since Dolce & Gabbana offered an embroidered hippie version of the shearling in last winter's show's. The look crystallized at Marni fall 2002 shows with their trend-inspiring coat with its lush dark brown fur lining bursting haphazardly through the seams and from under cuffs.

Don't worry - fur fashion is not abandoning luxury, only treating fur coats in a more nonchalant way.

The inside-out fur coat of choice is box-y shaped, worn above the knee and preferably in a dark chocolate brown. Ruffo Research, Michael Kors, DKNY, Marni and Sport Max all showed a similar coat - dark chocolate with an inside fur lining of thick black shearling. While, it's hardly a return to grunge, the roughly hemmed coats work perfectly with the rough hems being shown on jeans, tee-shirts and sweaters this season.

Anna Abdoul at Language in NY has a unique collection of early seventies vintage inspired inside-out furs. Each coat reveals an imperfect stitching and raw finish. The hide is hand- painted with antique decorative trimmings or graffiti or threaded with gold ribbons. These luxurious fur coats are luxurious but at the same time, cozy and bohemian.

If anything, the fashion for inside-out furs this season beckons a celebration of personal style. The reckless luxury of the inside-out furs express the individuality of both the designer and the person wearing it.