You don't need wheels to sport the ultimate in biker street cred.

Francesca Fearon roars in to a

range of Harley Davidson gear.

NOWADAYS, fashion pundits and biker aficionados are roaring their

Electra Glides and Fat Boys up to Glasgow's Italian Centre. These are

not oily bikers convening for a Hells Angel meet, rather they're there

to check out a new set of leathers. The mean machine icon of the road,

the Harley Davidson, is now the trade mark stamped across a range of

high-octane clothing that would appeal to Marlon Brando, Peter Fonda,

and their equally rebellious heirs.

V-Twin has just opened in the centre, stocking beautifully crafted

leather jackets, jerkins, sexy stretch mini-dresses, bandanas, belts,

and what every well-shod foot is wearing this season, the sturdy biker

boot, from the Harley Davidson Motor Clothes collection. Tough, raunchy,

and steeped in Hells Angel culture (albeit in a sanitised form), these

are American classics that would never go out of style. Needless to say,

the collection has achieved cult status across America, ironically,

given it is produced in Italy.

The shop in Glasgow is the first in the UK, joining others in New

York, Los Angeles, and St Tropez. The Harley Davidson bar and shield

logo, the rose and that all-American eagle, are embossed across lush

black leather biker jackets, collegiate blousons and waistcoats sporting

heavy metal zips. Black, silver and white tee shirts are branded with

biker imagery. Jeans, silver-buckled belts, and gauntlet gloves all bear

the marque while flames lick the legs of hosiery and bodywear.

Prices begin at #4.95 for accessories with Lycra catsuits at #85,

waistcoats #350, leather shirts #375, boots from #135, and leather

jackets ranging from #450 to #600. The gear is sexy, dynamic, and

befitting of the easy riders who cruise the highways on their Big Twin

or Electra Glides.