Good question! Have you tried using a macro like...

/micon “icon name"
/ac "gear set name"

I don't know if the /ac will work, but it's something to try. I've been messing around with macros so once I can get online I'll try to mess around with them to see if I can find out anything else. Honestly, it would be a shame if you couldn't use your gear sets in a macro. I can see a lot of potential in it.