Ask Christian MacLeod when the penny finally dropped that he’d made a success of his fashion business and he says it was a few days ago.

“I was walking past House of Fraser’s flagship store in Buchanan Street and I saw my belts, with the logo I’d designed in my bedroom at the age of 16, in the window beside Chanel and Prada.

“What an incredible feeling that was.”

The 23-year-old has just launched a pop-up in the department store, selling his luxury belts.

It’s been a dizzying rise for the former pro-golfer from Inverness – he is now in partnership with Aston Martin and counts the Celtic first team, Scots golfer Paul Lawrie and model Emma Louise Connelly among his biggest fans.

So how did Christian, who lives in Glasgow, come up with the idea? Apparently he was inspired by the lack of cool fashion available to golfers.

“I was always really into fashion and art at school. But I was also good at golf and became a pro.

“On the European tour there were only a few brands you could choose from. I used to get frustrated when five guys on the course would all be wearing the same clothes.

“I started designing my own clothes, and the other guys liked them. Then I broke my ankle and couldn’t compete for a year. During that time I really focused on fashion and came up with the belt idea, designing a full line. Four months later Paul Lawrie was wearing one.

He continues: “I realised that no one else designed just belts – I think that’s why it’s going so well. All my energy is now devoted to the belts – I love absolutely love them.

These days, Christian is putting all his energy into belts rather than golf. And it is clearly paying off.

He was approached by luxury car maker Aston Martin – which famously counts James Bond among its customers – and now uses the cars for marketing.

“I thought it was a joke when I first got the email,” he laughs. “Then they invited me to go and meet them at the factory. I couldn’t believe it. Apparently they’d been watching me for two years and thought the time was right to hook up.” He is hoping to design seatbelts for the cars in the future.

In the meantime, he hopes stylish Glaswegians will embrace his range of stylish belts.

“I suppose if you think of Hugo Boss, you think of the whole thing – suit, shirt, shoes. But if you think of Christian Louboutin, it’s just shoes. I want to be the Louboutin of belts.”

The Christian MacLeod collection is in House of Fraser, Buchanan Street, until 8 November.

www.christianmacleod.com