The Gawker game is on again, and this time here’s the challenge: explain why Fur Trapper Hats are the hot new thing. Weirdly, the Fashionista team was wondering about this last night - not only were the hats all over the streets, we actually spotted them on the runway at Charlotte Ronson and Luella!

Why are the hats a big deal? Fashionista explores…

Anna K, Model (pictured backstage at Benjamin Cho, in her own clothes): I love my hat! I am from Ukraine, and there everybody wears them on the street. Here it is more a fashion thing, but in Russia, it is like a baseball hat - we wear them to keep our heads warm.

Suzanne Karotkin, Harper’s Bazaar fashion editor: It’s fun to be colorful and sporty, especially with so much black and gray at the shows. My hat makes me feel a bit like I’m in Aspen, on some fabulous vacation… not freezing and in New York!

Kwesi Blair, professional trendspotter, Robert Burke & Associates: The hats are for warmth, mainly, but the look itself came from the Russian military trend on the runways.

Fashionista adds: It’s true - for Fall ‘05, the “kept Russian mistress” look was huge - Gaultier, Costume National, Anna Sui, and Michael Kors all embraced giant fur hats on the catwalk. Last year, Emporio Armani and Malo kept the trend going, and now it hits the streets (and the runways again) in a more wearable form.

Also, it’s below freezing outside - those fur trapper hats are amazing at blocking wind, though wearing fur is a personal choice, and Fashionista prefers the faux version we got at a T.J. Maxx in New Hampshire, made with Polar Fleece.

Click below for more Trapper Hat images…

Anna K. in all her gorgeous glory.

Fur and plaid wool hats at Charlotte Ronson’s Saturday show.

The most beautiful girl in the fashion closet, Suzanne Karotkin, in a Montcler jacket and vintage fur hat.

Angela Lindvall in a fur baseball hat at Luella Bartley.