HIT TV show Outlander inspired a Scots couple to create a wearable Highland outfit – made with chocolate.
The kilt and accessories took two months and 12kg of chocolate to create and was worn by its creator at a show in London.
Edinburgh chocolatier Alastair Gower and his wife Friederike fashioned the kilt, hat, sword, broach, sporran, shirt buttons and leg wraps entirely from chocolate.
Alastair, who donned the £1,000 creation for the Chocolate Show last weekend, tried to avoid the problem of melting chocolate using a framework of metal and fabric.
But Alastair declined to reveal whether he’d been a “true Scotsman” at the event, except to say: “I’m glad it didn’t melt while I was on the catwalk.”
He added: “So long as I didn’t stand in direct sunlight or heat then it didn’t really melt. Of course body heat melted it a little bit, but not much and each time I wore it a little bit would come off.”
The outfit was created by Friederike using a pair of curtains dipped in melted chocolate and then modeled in to shape.
Although it gave the illusion of fabric, according to Alastair there wasn’t much room for manoeuvre.
He said: “Modelling the outfit was another art to master and luckily it handled the catwalk well and didn’t crack or fall apart.
“It was pretty heavy and there was almost no flexibility compared with my usual kilt.”
This was the first time the pair had taken part in the fashion show at the Chocolate Week in London and the outfit caused a big reaction.
Alastair said: “We got a lot of ‘wows’ when people first saw it and they really love the concept.
“We wanted it to reflect our Scottish roots and my wife is a huge fan of the Outlander series.
“There were a lot of amazing outfits, one person had created a Kimono and there was a native Indian dress there too.”
The outfit is now currently on display in the cafe window on Bruntsfield Place in Edinburgh and speaking about the Outlander show, Alastair said he would love the star Sam Heughan to model the dress in the shop window.
He said: “I think it would be my wife’s dream if he were to comment on the outfit or even better come along to the cafe and have some chocolate and wear it!”
The couple’s Edinburgh cafe, the Chocolate Tree, won the Best Dessert Outlet in Scotland and also won a Bronze in the World finals of the International Chocolate Awards for its Venezuela Porcelana 85 per cent chocolate bar.
