Peng Liyuan, the glamorous wife of Xi Jinping, China’s new president, triumphed on her first foreign outing this week. Like many modern first ladies (think particularly Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni Sarkozy) Ms Peng, a popular Chinese singer, is a career woman. Also like her peers, she has adopted the practice of taking to the official catwalk dressed entirely in homegrown designer labels. This does more to advertise Chinese couture than any fashion show. But why should only the wives of the world’s leaders be held to such high fashion standards? If anything, the men are more in need of flair than today’s first ladies.

David Cameron’s sartorial style can only be defined as bland. François Hollande lacks the Gallic chic that should have been his birthright. And Vladimir Putin’s dress sense could be summed up as Rambo with a dash of Tarzan – but only at his dacha. At global summits he blends in perfectly with the sea of dull, dark suits.

If first-lady fashion is about using image to project soft power, the men should join in too. Mr Cameron could wear Paul Smith, whose “classic with a twist” approach fits with the “Conservative with a (caring) twist” brand. Mario Monti would cut a dash in Prada’s nerdy technocrat style. Mr Hollande could sharpen his image with Jean-Paul Gaultier’s edge, while Comme des Garçon’s flowing shapes would reflect Shinzo Abe’s traditionalist instincts.

Of course, leaders have to be sensitive to the hardships imposed by austerity. But the Duchess of Cambridge has won British hearts by showing that the UK’s high street can compete with haute couture when the right choices are made. A similar feat should not be beyond the capabilities of those we elect to lead us.