Metropolitans

Metropolitans: Navaz ‘Disneyrollergirl’ Batliwalla, fashion editor/consultant

September 23, 2011

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I am…a multi-platform kind of girl who doesn’t like being labelled, so let’s just say I do a mix of fashiony things that includes writing, styling, creative consultancy, teaching and running my blog disneyrollergirl.net which is my own mini multi-media empire. My attachment to London is mostly about the memories of people and places I’ve known, the clubs I went to and the characters I idolised but also that romantic sense of anything-could-happen that never quite goes away.

The area in London I call home is…Kensal Green but I’ve lived in West Kensington, Bayswater, Holland Park and Shepherd’s Bush so I’m at home in any corner of West London. Kensal Green is quite a creative neighbourhood; it’s basically the overspill of people who got priced out of Ladbroke Grove over the years so there’s lots of musicians, photographers and fashion types. Actually, who am I kidding, it’s mostly middle-class yummy mummies – but the arty kind!

I’ve got to have a meal at…It’s not quite a meal but the ice creams at Fortnum & Mason are incredibly good and if you order a coffee it comes in a cup with a teeny ice cream cone attached.

I tend to get my threads from…The Shop At Bluebird is my fantasy store. It’s a beautiful space and sells the international brands I like but merchandised in an engaging, personable way surrounded by books and furniture and general objects. I also like mooching around Portobello on a Friday and Spitalfields on a Thursday for the best vintage pickings. Couturelab is a great place to go to look at stuff I can’t afford and Couverture & The Garbstore in Kensington Park Road is worth a browse for unusual labels if I’m feeling flush.

To enjoy London’s nightlife, you should…avoid the west end on a Friday night. Although – Curzon Soho is a lovely cinema for arthouse films and has a nice bar and cafe attached to it.

If I was mayor, I would…Bring back the old style Routemaster buses

My favourite spot to check out art is…Anywhere and everywhere. The Tate Modern is a work of art in itself and I like wandering along Cork Street when I’m out on appointments and just seeing what’s there. I guess we’re pretty spoilt in London really.

I’d kindly tell a tourist to…top wheeling those ridiculous giant suitcases up and down Oxford Street and getting in my way!

The things I miss when I leave London are…Just the general vibe, the pace, the energy. It’s not the weather that’s for sure…

My soundtrack to London would be…

White Man In Hammersmith Palais by The Clash – this reminds me of seeing Joe Strummer at The Astoria with 2,000 40-something men pogo-ing as if their lives depended on it.

London Calling by The Clash – The Clash encapsulates London and especially West London for me, every time. This is a song for stomping along in the rain, with the volume cranked up all the way.

West End Girls by The Pet Shop Boys – the video captures that menacing-but-exciting thrill of Soho at night when you’re young…