Whatever happened to the King’s Road?

In the 60s the King’s Road was the epicentre of Swinging London, what went wrong?

London Focus

In the 1960s, Chelsea was cool. Its main shopping street, the King’s Road, was the epicentre of Swinging London. In the 70s Vivienne Westwood opened her infamous shop SEX here along with husband Malcolm McLaren. But today the street lacks character, and the cutting edge fashion has been replaced with branches of Jones Bootmakers (which, while they make great quality leather goods, is hardly at the vanguard of the industry) and even more worryingly, a shop devoted to selling crocs has appeared. So whatever happened to the King’s Road?

It’s hard to imagine Chelsea without its wealth, but once upon a time it was home to a large community of literary figures and artists, as a stroll down Cheyne Walk - where every other house is emblazoned with a blue plaque - will tell you.

Although excavations proved that there must have been a settlement in Chelsea during the Roman Empire, its main road wasn’t built until the times of Henry VIII. The king lived in Chelsea for several decades, building a house for his wife Catherine Parr on what is 19-26 Cheyne Walk today. The King’s Road was so-called because he used it as a private path to travel to his riverside home; it wasn’t until the 1830s that it became a public thoroughfare.

During the 17th and 18th centuries Chelsea was a popular weekend destination for Londoners, who would visit the nearby Ranelagh Pleasure Gardens, the local pubs, and the Chelsea Bun House, where the famous spiral-shaped buns were created. Much of Chelsea was still largely un-developed at this stage, which accounted for its appeal, but as with the rest of the capital this all changed in the 19th century. Many new homes were built, the city expanded and Chelsea’s open spaces became filled with Victorian terraces. The neighbourhood turned bohemian; from the art world, Turner, Whistler and Rosetti moved in, as well as literary figures like Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker and George Elliot. Many of these artists lived in purpose-built artist studios or mansion blocks, which had the benefit of lifts and electricity, unlike other parts of London.
\n\nUp until the 1800s, most residences were located by the river, however when the King’s Road was made public developers began constructing homes on either side of it. Shops opened to cater to the growth in population, including the Peter Jones department store on the corner with Sloane Square, which also happened to be the first store to use electricity. It still stands today, but shopping there now is a rather different experience to how it was in the 19th century, when squirrels and flamingos were sold rather than expensive handbags and mobile phones designed by Prada.

In 1955, while London was still undergoing a period of austerity following World War II, Mary Quant opened a shop called Bazaar. Quant’s window display featured mannequins sporting mini-skirts, a radical idea which many found immoral, leading to passers-by beating their umbrellas against the glass in fury. Unfortunately for them the style caught on, and London’s fashion changed dramatically. The King’s Road became populated with shops like Biba and Granny Takes a Trip, selling garments with colourful psychedelic patterns. These hip boutiques attracted rock stars and models, and misty-eyed teenagers dreamt of “going down the King’s Road”. The Rolling Stones and their groupies would hang out at the Chelsea Drugstore, a complex containing bars, cafes and a record shop that remained open 16 hours a day, every day of the week, much to the annoyance of the neighbours. Sadly, this is now a McDonald’s.

In 1971 Vivienne Westwood opened her first boutique, Let It Rock, but it was in 1974 when her third shop, SEX, would create the biggest stir, playing a major role in the birth of the punk aesthetic. The mini-skirts and flower power dresses were replaced with black leather and ripped clothes, but this was short-lived, as in the decade that followed Chelsea would shift by yet another 180 degrees. The economic boom of the 80s made a lot of people very rich, and the punks were swiftly replaced with Sloane Rangers and yuppies. Smart but sensible fashion such as brogues and jackets made by Balfour became the new local uniform, and Chelsea’s association with music and art disintegrated as the bohemians moved to Notting Hill and East London.
\n\nIt seems the 80s incarnation of the King’s Road is here to stay. The area is populated by modern versions of the Sloane Ranger, blow-dried blonde hair and Mulberry handbags placed in the crook of the arm for the ladies, pale-coloured jeans and loafers sans socks for the gents. The artistic aspect has gone, and the fact that the Saatchi Gallery relocated here from County Hall is more of a testament to British arts’ recent obsession with status and money than any local cultural savvy. The top end of King’s Road, where it meets Sloane Street, still has designer boutiques, but the shops now mostly consist of chains, and the few independent outlets that do exist are mostly expensive furniture shops. There is a juice bar and a branch of the awful Harry J Beans, as well as Brazilian-Japanese fusion restaurant Sushinho and various non-descript Italian eateries.

If the two recent series of Made in Chelsea showed us anything it’s that Chelsea’s wealth continues unabated; also, that the neighbourhood is home to a lot of airheads starting jewellery lines and not remotely ironic T-shirt lines with their parents’ money. But it has its plus points too. The townhouses are beautiful (if exorbitantly priced), and the Chelsea Harbour, just a few minutes’ walk away from the King’s Road, is stunning at night when the bridge is illuminated. It might not be cool anymore, but the heirs, footballers, property tycoons and bankers who reside here hardly care.

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