First Time Fur at NYFW Fall 09

Of all the trends that popped up last week during New York Fashion Week (so much more on that later), the one that took us by surprise most was the use of fur by designers who'd never designed with animal skins in the past.

First, we saw it at Ohne Titel, then at Alexander Wang and Thakoon (whose shows were actually sponsored by Saga Furs), and then finally at Marchesa (left).

We're not really sure what this means - has fur become more acceptable? Is it a backlash against "restrained" times? - but consider this: Fall 09 was the first time in ages that PETA didn't protest at the Tents.

In fact, the PETA presence was much less this time around, which makes us wonder, has fur won the battle?