Designer Tom Ford, the man credited with saving Gucci has chosen this time of tight purse strings to launch one of the most extravagant items to date : a limited edition collection of fur boots for men, with the top-priced pair commanding $9,240.

The collection consists of three pairs of boots and a compatible fur trapper hat.

There are silver and tan natural fur boots for $5,250; chocolate brown kid fur boots for $4,470 both with rawhide leather laces; and a somewhat dressier pair of natural brown otter fur boots which cost the $9,240.

Tom Ford has become one of fashion’s great icons. In the past decade, he transformed Gucci from a moribund accessories label into one of the sexiest fashion brands in the world.

Following his departure from Gucci in 2004, Ford created his own eponymous brand, Tom Ford.

Ford began with accessories; his line of eyewear was the first to become successful. The Tom Ford line now covers Menswear, Beauty, Eyewear, and both Men and Women’s Accessories.

Gucci, the flagship brand of French luxury group PPR, is the world’s most coveted luxury brand according to a global luxury brands survey by The Nielsen Company.

In the latest survey, one in five global consumers said they would choose to buy Gucci (over any other luxury brand) if money was no option, making the Italian fashion brand that was revived by Tom Ford in the 1990’s the most coveted and aspirational luxury brand in the world today.

Chanel and Calvin Klein tied for second place in Nielsen’s 48-country global online survey that was conducted in November 2007.