Superhero tartan range launched by Paisley kiltmakers

Houston Kiltmakers in Paisley, Renfrewshire, has created seven tartans inspired by comic book superheroes. The designs range from a purple and green tartan - in the colours of The Incredible Hulk - to the red and blue of Spiderman. But only the most diehard of comic fans will be able to afford them because the designs would need to be specially commissioned and woven at a cost of £1,000. Batman and Robin have also had the tartan treatment - with Batman’s design a subtle mix of dark blues and greys with yellow detailing and Robin’s a bold mix of Ferrari red, banana yellow and green. Superman’s clan tartan, meanwhile, is comprised of the navy blue that makes up his body suit - as well as the red of his cape and infamous underwear, which he wears outside his trousers. Iron Man, meanwhile, has a tartan made of red and gold - the colours of the mechanical suit that give him his special power. And Wolverine - the character played by Hugh Jackman in the recent X-Men movies - has been given a tartan of yellow, blue and purple to match his suit in the original vintage comic series. The Hulk has been given a thickly woven tartan - to represent his superhero strength. And Spiderman has been given a red and blue tartan complete with fine white detailing, to match the webs he spins from his hands after being bitten by a radioactive spider. Stuart Davison, 25, the firm’s head of marketing, created the superhero tartans. He posted the arty tartans online and asked users to vote on their favourite. More than a hundred tartan enthusiasts have voted in the poll so far - putting Batman firmly in the lead with 38 of the votes. The Hulk’s tartan has come in second place - with 33 of the votes - but Robin seems to have been relegated to sidekick status, with only one vote thus far. Speaking about the project, Mr Davison said: “I just did this to try and get to a younger generation and try to involve them with the tradition – it’s a bit of an older generation thing at the moment.” He added: “I really like the Batman and the Hulk ones – just because of the colours really match up with the characters - and I think they’ve had the most response as well.” But he warned that any die-hard comic fan would need to dig deep to have a kilt made in the patterns of the iconic superheroes. He said: “They’d have to be specially woven - it’d be pretty expensive to do. “Probably at least £1,000 to have a length of this fabric made at the mill.” The firm is owned by Ken Macdonald and was established in 1909 by his great-grandfather.