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Today the fashion caravan arrives in Milan and the city for which the term "shop till you drop" was invented starts firing its big guns in the long campaign of the autumn shows.
There's more glamour, more hype and certainly more money than in London but whether there will be as much creativity in its businesslike atmosphere is questionable. There will certainly be more fur. In a city where full-length mink is the norm even as the Mediterranean spring sun starts to warm up, designers have never been shy of this controversial material. Donatella Versace, whose show tonight will be the week's first blockbuster, promises a collection of softness and luxury with furs from mink to sable and fox in gold, silver or even denim finish. Softly bloused jackets or dresses trimmed in topstitched leather go with luxurious parkas in cashmere and sable.
Later in the week, Fendi will give their usual virtuoso display of highly worked fur designed by Karl Lagerfeld. Gucci always includes fur for its high-glam clientele (last winter's monochrome herringbone mink was a big hit) and Prada may well be encouraged by the success of winter's fox tippets to repeat the experiment.
Versace may have been spurred on to more fur by a surprising British source. With fashion becoming as global as any other major industry, top designers look over their shoulders at rising competition wherever...