Not so smart Alex gets a real dressing down

HE HAS a fancy title, the keys to Bute House, a ministerial car and his political enemies are too busy fighting each other to pose much of an electoral threat.

But here's something that could wipe the grin off Alex Salmond's face: he and his senior Government team are in trouble with Scotland's new fashion tsar.

Tessa Hartmann, joint head of the newly created Scottish Fashion Council, has delivered a damning verdict on Salmond's sartorial standing and that of most of his senior SNP colleagues.

Urging SNP Government ministers to don £3,000-a-time suits from Scotland's finest young designers and wear them on trips abroad, Hartmann says Salmond currently plays it too safe sartorially and ends up looking like he believes the country is just an economic region of the UK.

Finance Secretary John Swinney's dress style is described as "middle management bank clerkness", education secretary Fiona Hyslop is accused of "fashion illiteracy" and urged to ditch her M&S outfits, while Linda Fabiani, the culture secretary, is described as an "anachronism" in the fashion stakes.

Members of the Scottish Fashion Council, which formally opens for business next month, include Graeme Black, the designer behind Giorgio Armani's Black Label, Jim McGonigle, the managing director of USC, Lorraine Pringle of Warehouse, and Vogue model Kirsty Hume.

The council will help fashion students and designers bring Scottish style to the international catwalks by providing funding, teaching programmes and all-important introductions to the big names in the industry.

Hartmann wants the First Minister to play a leading role by adopting a power wardrobe for a 21st-century leader. She said: "His role as leader should be reflected in his attire. He plays it safe with suits but his appearance is a statement about the state of his nation. From a psychological point of view we can say that his attire could be interpreted as a reflection of a tentative approach towards independence. A clear bespoke approach would send out the right messages to the political campfires across Europe and indeed the world."

She added: "If Alex Salmond was styled in the right way in one of the finest cut and tailored suits that Scotland could offer, he could really show off what we can do.

"There are some splendid tailors in Savile Row who are Scottish, and in Scotland we have beautiful yarns and very fine fabrics."

Brian Rennie, who will jointly head the council, said Salmond's publicity-shy wife Moira could also do her part.

He said: "I would give her a bit more of a glamorous image: there is a new designer range by (Scottish cashmere producers] Johnston's that takes the classic things like twin sets made from cashmere and makes them modern and beautiful. She could wear it with funky skirts or even an updated version of a kilt."

The Council's designs on other members of the Government include:

• "Vivacious" Mackintosh raincoat and knee-length skirts for education minister Hyslop, to get rid of her tight-fitting blazers.

• A little black dress, killer heels and bright contemporary jewellery for culture minister Fabiani.

• Made-to-measure suit by Scottish-born Savile Row tailors Patrick Norton & Sons for the finance minister John Swinney.

• "Caledonian glamour" makeover for Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with a palette of browns and navies, and pencil skirts to accentuate her figure.

The only senior minister the Council singled out as being spot-on in the fashion stakes was justice minister Kenny MacAskill. Hartmann said: "It's not about exterior appearance, it's about interior morals in this case. His stark conservative and classic look is modelled on imminent reason in his world – go Kenny – I think he's got it right."

But a high-quality Scottish makeover does not come cheap. Hyslop will have to cough up more than £600 just to keep the rain off with a bright pink Mackintosh raincoat, and Fabiani's jewellery alone – statement pieces created by Scottish jewellery designer Scott Stephen – will be a cool £500.

The men's outfits will be even dearer if Swinney or Salmond want to cut dashing figures in Harris tweed around Holyrood. The Harris tweed from Norton & Sons is currently selling at £3,200 a suit or £1,900 for a jacket. The same firm even make made-to-measure underpants at £200 a pair.

Getting it wrong, however, can prove expensive in the long term. Unforgettable fashion faux pas include William Hague's ill-judged baseball cap, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's gaping cleavage, and Jack McConnell's misguided decision to don an above-the-knee pinstripe kilt on a New York catwalk in 2004.

PR guru Max Clifford knows more than most about how important it is to look the part when in the public eye. However, he does not think this should apply in the political arena.

He said: "I'm inclined to think that politicians should be their own people with an individual style and personality.

"More and more politicians get to Parliament with all their ideas and drive and passion, and very quickly it gets channelled out.

"You shouldn't have a PR telling you what to say and do. These days everything is about public relations.

"In terms of being supportive to Scotland and Scottish fashion, that's great, but if I was a Scottish politician I would go out and find a Scottish designer or tailor that I really liked and I would wear something that really suited me."

Malcolm Chisholm, Labour MSP and shadow culture spokesman, said: "I don't think it's a bad idea if people wear Scottish designers when they go abroad, but at home I think they should be able to wear what they want."