By all accounts from the men's shows last week in Milan, we're going back in time. Just how far back in time, however, is a matter of interpretation?

Let's start with Alexander McQueen who took men back to their hunter -gatherer roots and man's basic nature. His show notes described his inspiration as "a vision from hell" so when a male model strutted by with a fur fox pelt draped over his shoulder like he had just killed it - but also wearing a voluminous suit in a Prince of Wales check under the fur - it made you wonder.

Is this McQueen's idea of hell: hunting at High Grove? Otherwise, for the remainder of the show, the fur was a bit more tamed with a relatively passive knee length sheepskin coat for après-hunt. In comparison to McQueen's skull and bones approach (he put skulls on fair-isle sweaters), Dolce and Gabbana seemed totally highbrow.

Domenico and Stefano also themed Fall 2006 man as a confident and strong hunter -gathering HE-man. But Dolce and Gabbana's HE-man is more proper. Not only does he wear velvet suits but also his brocaded military jackets have a stylish Austro-Hungarian edge. Dolce and Gabbana's classic take on fur included a tweed coat with a sheared mink collar. And everyone's favorite - a pea coat - was lined with sheepskin and a fur collar. They did a brilliant job of taking an old style coat and jazzing it up for the new man who likes his classics with a side of deluxe.

Cavalli brought us back to nature, but then doesn't he always? From reptile printed jeans and blousons appliquéd with sheared burgundy mink, Cavalli indulged our most ancient fantasies by taking us to nature in the Orient. I'm not sure what the quilted biker jacket with beaver -trimmed hood had to do with this but maybe samurais rode motorcycles in ancient Japan? Otherwise, there were lots of fur printed scarves that would appeal to modern senseis.

Finally, the highlight of the men's week in Milan ended with Valentino whose historical presentation involved his nostalgia for the days when people would really dress to travel. For the business traveler: a handcrafted crocodile coat with the ultimate accessory: a woman in a crocodile skin coat with fur collar and fur sleeves. Welcome aboard Valentino Airlines!

I can't imagine what man wouldn't want to take a seat in Valentino's lavish private lounge. Aside from the croc the fantastical fur on fellow passengers included an astrakhan coat, a leopard-printed pony skin car coat, a shearling-lined blouson in mushroom suede, a gray silk suit...well, you get the picture.

Valentino male and female passengers were miles away from the average track-suit-clad schleppers. The show ended with a nod to our HE-man of the season: two models in full cowboy rig, strolling the catwalk hand-in-hand.

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