Princess of Tartan Siobhan Mackenzie accepts invite from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Burns night Scottish showcase at 10 Downing Street – and finds plenty to talk about!
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A FASHION designer from the Black Isle had plenty to talk about when invited to showcase some of her fabulous tartan creations at a 10 Downing Street reception this week.
Siobhan Mackenzie, who is from Fortrose, was invited by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to the celebration of Scottish culture on Burns' night this week.
Ms Mackenzie, who designed Team Scotland's outfits for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, was amongst those welcomed to the PM's official residence to the familiar strains of pipes and drums.
She revealed that she enjoyed chatting to Mr Sunak's businesswoman wife, Akshata Murty, who herself went to fashion school and showed a keen interest in her work.
She chatted about her innovative work reinventing tartan classics such as kilts, tailoring and accessories into contemporary styles.
She said: "I had the opportunity to show the PM and his wife the brand which they were very enthusiastic about – Akshata went to fashion school so it was great to chat to her about that. Rishi’s favourite from the collection I brought was my red Wallace and leopard print kilt!"
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Those in attendance were offered a dram of the Isle of Raasay Distillery’s finest. Founded in 2017, the Inner Hebrides island’s first legal distillery produces both whisky and gin in its contribution to Scotland’s drinks exports, worth £4.2. billion in total in 2021.
Guests were invited to enjoy Scottish cuisine from stalls in an indoor 'street market'.
Deeney’s famous haggis toasties and Rapscallion’s fresh fruit sodas were on offer
Deeney’s was set up by Carol and Paddy at a market in East London in the summer of 2012. Inspired by Carol’s Scottish roots, it has been a mainstay of London’s street food scene ever since, partly thanks to their famous ‘Macbeth’ haggis toastie, and they now have restaurants in both London and Tokyo.
Glasgow-based Rapscallion Soda was born in 2016 and has built a reputation for its inventive exotic flavours using raw ingredients, such as Burnt Lemon, Dry Lime and Rhubarb.
Hugh McMillan, a member of the Scottish Poetry Library, was due to recite Robert Burns’ A Man’s a Man for a’ That, as well as a selection of other poetry.
