The 58-year-old designer, whose clients include Sienna Miller and Samantha Cameron, has created the world’s most expensive abaya.

“The most difficult challenge for me was to create a garment which did not follow the natural curves of a woman’s shape,” he says of the £205,000 “red carpet abaya”, which is encrusted with diamonds.

“An abaya must, by definition, envelope the body rather than suggest what lies underneath —which is in complete contrast to what I do and what I’ve been trained to do as a tailor and couturier.”

After his abaya, an overgarment worn by many Muslim women, the former Barnardo’s boy is now considering hijabs and burkas.

“I have enough clients in the Middle East and if they ask me for them I’d be happy to give it a go,” he tells Mandrake.