But on Friday 8 August customers will give their own verdict when Dame Vivienne Westwood's first store north of the border opens its doors.

The outlet in the city's Princes Square is promising to provide "experience" shopping and will showcase all of Westwood's label lines while also buying in couture pieces bought specifically for the Scottish market.

As the finishing touches were being added, Erin Scott, manager of the store, said she expected Vivienne Westwood's trademark designs to be popular with Scottish fashionistas.

"There is a real frenzy about the opening," she said. "Sometimes it can be quite intimidating in a designer shop, but it is going to a real experience shopping in Vivienne Westwood.

"There is such a good feel to Glasgow, there is an eccentric vibe. We will be tailoring the buying to the city, to what the customer wants."

Although the store will open its doors on Friday 8 August, the official launch will not be until September.

Shoppers in Princes Square said that they were all interested in seeing what the "Grande Dame" of haute couture had to offer.

Jane Robertson, 40, a property developer from Ayrshire, said: "It is just a bit too way-out for me. It is not wearable. You need an awful lot of attitude to wear Vivienne Westwood clothes."

Yvonne Thomas, 20, a student at Edinburgh University, added: "It adds to Glasgow as a shopping capital. Although I love Edinburgh, Glasgow is the place to go for shopping."

Jane Cowan, centre manager of Princes Square, said: "A retailer like Vivienne Westwood complements the existing niche retailers we have. It is reinforcing the fact that Glasgow is the number one place to shop in Scotland."