His skirts make the lads.
Howie Nicholsby dresses the most important A-Listers in kilts to impress.
The fourth-generation kiltmaker once was tasked with outfitting Vin Diesel, who grew up in Greenwich Village and whose mother is of Scottish descent, for the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards in Edinburgh, Scotland — and his kilt killed it.
“The producers wanted them to vary outfits throughout the show,” Nicholsby, 44, told The Post a number of days before NYC celebrated Tartan Week on Saturday with a parade up Sixth Avenue.
“He tried on the leather kilt and he said, ‘F–k’n hell, that is the bomb. I’m wearing this the entire f–king show.’”
Nicholsby, who owns Edinburgh-based twenty first Century Kilts, can trace his celebrity connections back to his parents.
They constructed the kilt Mel Gibson wore to the premiere of “Braveheart,” and visited Charlton Heston’s West Hollywood mansion to measure him for one.
“My mom got to carry Moses’ staff,” Nicholsby said.
But, he recalled, his parents, Geoffrey and Lorna, annoyingly “wouldn’t let me take the day without work school to satisfy Scotty from ‘Star Trek.’”
He’s since dressed other bold-faced names like Ozzy Osbourne, John McEnroe and Prince Albert of Monaco.
In 2009, he fit Lenny Kravitz for a kilt in Newcastle, England, before the singer’s concert in Glasgow, which ended sadly.
“He wore the kilt; he rocked it. He looked amazing,” Nicholsby said.
“But while the show was on, Michael Jackson died.
“They were good friends and had just worked on something together.”
His creations — which range in price from around $900 to only over $3,000 — are mainly manufactured from a poly-wool mix or tweed, but he can also be known for edgy denim and leather creations .
Nicholsby began coming to the Big Apple for the Tartan Day Parade in 2000.
“Tartan” refers back to the plaids that discover Scottish clans.
“Scotland has a really old birth, death, marriage record. It goes back to in regards to the 1100s,” he said.
“So in the event you know your surname and your loved ones originated in Scotland, you possibly can get a loose connection to what we call a clan.”
While he at all times maintains the clothing’s tradition, he sometimes likes to vary things up.
“The best way I wear my kilt, depending what color’s in season, what’s occurring like say with hoodies, or denims or leathers, I try a bit like Cher or Madonna, to vary my look every few years,” he said.
“But the muse continues to be the identical.
“It’s still a kilt and funky boots.”
