HER kilts are already a favourite of pop star Justin Bieber and tennis coach Judy Murray, but Scottish fashion designer Siobhan Mackenzie is set to take her work to a global audience of billions.

The Glasgow-based kiltmaker has been commissioned by Team Scotland to co-create the parade uniform that athletes and officials will wear for the opening ceremony of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia on April 4.

The uniforms will feature a blue, purple, magenta and green tartan designed by Team Scotland in collaboration with Perth-based House of Edgar and woven at the textile firm's mill in the Moray town of Keith.

While the men's kilts will be manufactured by House of Edgar, which also made the 2014 Team Scotland tartan, 24-year-old Mackenzie has been brought on board to ensure the women's outfits showcase "a mix of tradition with a modern twist".

Mackenzie – named Best New Scottish Designer 2016 – said she was "honoured" to be involved, admitting it had yet to fully sink in. Speaking exclusively to The Herald, she said: "I don't think it will hit me until the team walk out in Australia."

Her eponymous label, founded three years ago with the bold ambition of reinventing the kilt, includes women's cashmere and ready-to-wear collections alongside bespoke tailoring for men. Mackenzie's signature style is alternating tartan and plain block wool pleats to dramatic effect in her kilts.

The Black Isle-born designer pitched to Team Scotland after an idea took root while working as an alteration technician – sewing and adjusting uniforms for officials – at Glasgow 2014.

"We were based in the Kelvin Hall and had TV screens on where we could watch the Commonwealth Games while sewing," says Mackenzie. "That got me into it and I felt like I wanted to be involved at a higher level because what I do fits so perfectly.

"They have never had something quite like my kind of style before. It is shining a light on a contemporary version of Scotland."

Mackenzie's eye-catching design for the Team Scotland women has the tartan cut on the bias with brightly coloured purple pleats on the back. "I picked out the purple that was woven within the tartan and asked them to weave it as a plain block colour," she says.

This fabric was used for the back of the kilt. "It makes the purple pop," explains Mackenzie. "It is quite a thin line within the tartan itself and this brings it out really well."

The women will carry a matching sporran-style handbag. A white polo shirt with tartan detailing on the sleeves and purple side panels completes the outfit.

Seeing her designs showcased on an international stage is something Mackenzie has dreamed of since deciding to become a fashion designer aged 10.

Growing up in Fortrose, she began sketching fashion illustrations at a young age. "I would create different outfits and all the accessories that went with them," recalls Mackenzie. "I would happily sit in a corner and draw for hours."

It was a passion first sparked by watching her maternal great grandmother transform plain sweaters into striking one-off designs using sequins.

"She had this huge collection of sequins and would sew the most amazing patterns with them," says Mackenzie. "I loved watching her doing that. I found it fascinating seeing how she transformed something into a completely unique piece. She would give me a bag of sequins to take home with me."

Mackenzie got her first sewing machine at 13 and lessons from a home economics teacher helped hone her craft.

After leaving school, she studied fashion design and production in a joint programme between Manchester Metropolitan University and Glasgow Kelvin College, gaining a first-class honours degree. Her graduate collection was inspired by her Highland heritage and Clan Mackenzie roots.

During her final year at university, Mackenzie did a six-month internship under the tutelage of master kiltmaker John Culbert and his team at Lanarkshire's Glenisla Kilts.

She views high-quality craftsmanship as being every bit as important as a keen eye for fashion design. "I wanted to learn the traditional way of kiltmaking first and have the knowledge and expertise of people who have worked in the industry for 30-odd years to help me do that," she says.

Five days after graduating, and at the age of 21, she incorporated her company. Mackenzie has since gone from strength to strength, winning a plethora of industry plaudits and seeing her designs stocked by big-name luxury stores such as Bergdorf Goodman in New York.

"I wanted to have my own line, but always imagined I would work my way up through London or different fashion houses," says Mackenzie. "It wasn't until I launched my graduate collection and people started asking: 'Where can we buy this?' that it very naturally evolved into a business."

The kilt is Scotland's most iconic garment. It requires bravery and verve to attempt to reinvent something steeped in tradition. "You are absolutely playing with fire," agrees Mackenzie. "Because you could get it so wrong and that would upset a lot of people."

It is a sentiment that could equally be applied to designing the Team Scotland parade uniform. Few can forget how the 2014 incarnation – the brainchild of Glasgow textile designer and artist Jilli Blackwood – polarised public opinion.

Blackwood received a barrage of criticism after the design was unveiled, although in a later interview said she felt "vindicated" after many of her early detractors admitted how striking the parade uniform had looked against the backdrop of a packed Celtic Park that balmy July evening.

Mackenzie says she feels empathy for her predecessor given the furore Blackwood faced. "The thing you have got to remember is that you are never going to please everybody," she asserts. "Everyone has different styles and tastes. And they are allowed their opinion.

"I definitely felt for her," continues Mackenzie. "It was different and that is what she [Blackwood] was going for in making a statement. The Commonwealth Games were in Glasgow and I understand her thoughts behind making something that was going to stand out and be remembered."

With her own kilt design kept under wraps since being commissioned back in January, Mackenzie is yet to find out what the public think, but the feedback from one of the first to wear it, Commonwealth Games silver medallist and 800m runner Lynsey Sharp, has been glowing.

Sharp, 27, from Edinburgh – who was named in the athletics squad for Gold Coast 2018 last week – is already a big fan. "I follow Siobhan on social media and really like her designs," she says. "When I heard it was her who designed the kilt I was excited."

How does Sharp think it will received by her sporting peers and the public? "The parade uniform is always a big talking point," she says. "I absolutely love it and think Siobhan should be so proud of what she has designed. I think everyone is going to love it. I can't wait to see their reactions."

Mackenzie acknowledges 1.5 billion people worldwide seeing her design brings an added pressure. "I designed something that is not too avant-garde," she says. "It has a slight twist, but is hopefully going to please the majority of people.

"Not just those watching, but the athletes wearing it because they are going to be different heights and body sizes. I want the women to feel comfortable in what they are wearing. I also kept in mind that Commonwealth Games Scotland are trying to reach out to a younger audience."

Mackenzie is sanguine when asked about seeing her many months of hard work translate into something that may only be worn for a handful of hours on the day of the opening ceremony.

During a photo shoot at the Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, she worked with Sharp to show how the parade uniform could be styled and worn again with cashmere, high heels and jewellery.

"I hope it is something the women will choose to incorporate into their wardrobes, rather than just putting it away at the back and forgetting about it," says Mackenzie. "It is almost like a souvenir of them being at the Games, which is a huge accomplishment in their careers."

Recent weeks have been a whirl of planning and preparation, providing little opportunity to pause and take stock.

"I have just been trying to get on with it and make sure everything is ready, that I have everyone's sizes and they are happy with the design," she says. "It's been about managing all the logistics of it rather than thinking: 'Wow, this is a really big deal.'

"It will hit me properly when everyone has their kilts on and they walk out into the stadium. Only then I'll be like: 'Oh my gosh, I did that …'"