luxury — not sport — dominates next winter's mens fashion

As the menswear preview winter showings wind down it is clear that designers are not in the mood for sports.

After several seasons of safe casual clothes, Italian designers return to their first love — classic tailoring — and in more than one case, go beyond.

Earlier in the week Dolce&Gabbana presented a latter-day dandy who flaunts a velvet tuxedo jacket worn with distressed jeans. On the third of the four day preview presentations for the fall-winter 2011-2012 Monday, Frida Giannini for Gucci created a new dandy based on the rock-star atmosphere of the 1970s.

While every show has devoted a lot of space to revisited suit wear, luxurious fur and ample outerwear also play a big part in the winter fashion scene.

Fur-trimmings, an extravagant detail, are present in almost every collection. Ostentatious jackets, long coats and big furs are another sign that the good life is back.

The new Gucci suit has a classic cut spiffed up by silk ties and pocket handkerchiefs. The jacket is cut short, the pants have a carefree looseness, and the plaids are strictly British.

But where Gucci really goes to dandy town is in the outerwear. Oversized double-breasted shearling jackets, sleek ostrich leather coats, and a big coat in shaggy Mongolian goat are all superbly over the top.

Donatella Versace created a futuristic 3-dimensional fashion, a sort of menswear Avatar wardrobe, for the winter 2011-2012.

Nothing was flat — from the bubbled wool fabric, to the embossed leather, and the fluffy Astrachan fur.

In contrast, the styles were streamlined. The new jacket is double-breasted and slides down to the hips cinched by a warrior-like leather belt complete with bullet holders. Pants are narrow, and stop short of the ankle, the favorite new hemline.

Evening wear is very tuxedo with fetching contrasts of black and blue. A stiff priest collar shirt in place of a bow tie and pointed boots underline the sci-fi feel of the collection.

There's something of Dracula Meets the Military in Alexander McQueen's collection for next winter, also shown on Monday.

The collection features coats with super high collars, turned up against the cold winter wind, and sometimes lined with fur. The coats often recall military styling, and a few of the higher collars in black brought to mind a very stylish vampire.

Coats were the collection's main feature, billowing or short, leather or wool.

Sarah Burton, in her second solo menswear outing since McQueen's death nearly a year ago, layered her jackets — a fur-collared bomber under a trench, or a vest sewn on the outside of an overcoat — for some very striking winter looks.