There were so many beautiful furs shown in Milan that we will split the Milan coverage into three parts - first, some overall highlights, then Prada and Armani will be reviewed together and then Gucci. Gucci had so many spectacular and innovative fur coats on the runway this season, that it requires its own 'Best Of' coverage. So, get a notebook ready - you are going to have quite a shopping list when we're through!

The first shows of Men's collections in Milan began with an extension of what was shown in Paris - many exaggerated fur collars on classic styled coats.

But as always, the Italians have to add their own unique twist. Bottega Veneta took the classic pea coat but showed it in yellow sheared mink! Sounds awful but it was a pretty good-looking coat. Bottega also showed similar buttery leathers (as Hermes) and did a paper thin tan leather jacket, cropped at the waist with a soft sheared mink collar. Leather jackets abounded here as well- one in crocodile with a side zip and an astonishingly shiny gorgeous python jacket also zipping off-center.

Bottega's designer, Tomas Maier's technical accomplishments are all the more spectacular for being so subtle. His obsession this season was with the craft of clothing and he applied his careful construction - a form of Neapolitan tailoring-to the entire collection. So every silhouette, even on a seemingly casual leather jacket -was tailored to the nth degree. In particular, a green loden coat, a classic coat of the Mitteleuropa bourgeoisie was shaped to look new and he lined it with great heaps of curly lamb. But Maier's tendency is toward sheer, unadulterated luxury and he demonstrated that here with his glazed python rock n' roll jacket and in the most exquisite duffel in honey-toned Madagascar crocodile.

Burberry Prorsum hit the same note of unadulterated luxury when straight out of the gate, came the perfect cashmere tan wool overcoat with an oversized collar in sheared black mink. The trench coat turned up again but this time in navy blue padded leather with a blue mink collar. The padded idea continued with a metallic colored coat with a fur collar and then an absolutely fabulous pelt - long rough-hewn fur belted at the waist with a brown leather belt. There were many trench coats and military style coats including yellow-y brown crocodile trench coat and a green military style coat with fur collars - that was clearly a nod to Burberry's England roots.

But the best accessory of the week was the oversize fur mittens that looked like giant fur potholders. Designer Christopher Bailey drew on historical references for the mittens because Thomas Burberry kitted out the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and those fur mitts are a star item in the Burberry archives. The idea of the collection was to outfit a formal but still a scruffy English kid in functional luxury.

Fendi's collection was a highlight of the men's shows with unique looking three quarter sleeve fur coats: think women's coats from 1950. Nonetheless, there were some interesting furs in this collection to consider for next season, especially if global warming continues, and then 3/4 sleeves might be the way to go.

The first model stepped out in a 1980's style suede coast with the elasticized stretch fabric at the wrist and waistband and a fluffy white fur collar. A suede tracksuit preceded a long fur coat with a high collar and elasticized sleeves just past the elbows, a coat you could imagine on Audrey Hepburn. Applying this look to menswear is a new idea entirely but ....you never know.

So it was all the more confusing when a shaggy fur poncho/coat arrived. But the idea was this: to get fur to look like fabric and fabric to look like fur. So, in this very contemporary collection, Fendi experimented with sheared Persian lamb as a shirt, a blouson and even a trench coat. The ribbing on a vest tunic was actually marmot, and a coat that looked surely to be fox, was actually angora. It was one of the more innovative collections all week.

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