Sloane Rangers vs Arabs – the battle for Chelsea

Perhaps you’re aware that it’s Ramadan right now, the month in which all good Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight. What you might not know is that Ramadan also marks the start of an annual turf war in London; a battle between the tribal Sloanes and the young Gulf Arabs to dominate Chelsea.

The skirmish actually begins before Ramadan. The Gulf States heat up to an intolerable degree and their oil-rich young migrate over here in droves to escape both religious censure and the sun. They descend first of all on the department stores in what’s become known as the Harrods Hajj, to flash their cash around. One friend of mine working in Selfridges was asked by a young Saudi what she would like as a present. ‘A diamond ring,’ she replied, joking. The next day the customer was back — with the ring.

Fashionable clothing stores in Kensington and Chelsea time their grand openings to coincide with Ramadan, which makes perfect sense when you consider that the ‘Ramadan rush’ made about £150 million for London retailers last year. And where best to show off all the bling? Well, the King’s Road of course, from the front seat of a burnt-orange Lamborghini.

This is where the natives of SW1 and SW3 start to become restless. Thirty years ago, Sloane Square was known for one thing and one thing only: the Sloane Ranger. Knightsbridge was the favoured stomping ground of every London-based Sloane, and as Peter York’s 1982 book The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook put it: ‘How many miles from “the centre” you are is, of course, measured from Sloane Square.’ Back then, tweed, gilets and red trousers were all the rage, and a princess was a style icon.