Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden north of Camden Town. The name of Kentish Town is derived from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterway" and is otherwise unrelated to Kent. In researching the meaning of Ken-ditch, it has been noted that ken is the Celtic word for both "green" and "river", while ditch refers to the River Fleet, now a subterranean river. However, another theory is the name. Kentish Town was a small settlement on the River Fleet, it is first recorded during the reign of King John as kentisston. By 1456 Kentish Town was a thriving hamlet. In this period a chapel of ease was built for its inhabitants; the early 19th century brought modernisation, causing much of the area's rural qualities, the River Fleet and the 18th-century buildings to vanish, although pockets still remain, for example Little Green Street. Between the availability of public transport to it from London, its urbanisation, it was a popular resort. Large amounts of land were purchased to build the railway.

Kentish Town was a prime site for development as the Kentish Town Road was a major route from London northwards. Karl Marx was a famous resident, living at 46 Grafton Terrace from 1856. Jenny Marx described this eight-room house in Kentish Town as "A princely dwelling, compared with the holes we used to live in". 1877 saw the beginning of mission work in the area as it was poor. The mission first held their services outside but as their funding increased they built a mission house and vicarage. One mission house of the area was Lyndhurst Hall which remained in use before being taken over by the Council; the Council wished it to sell it for residential use, the hall was demolished in 2006. During the 19th century and early 20th century the area of Kentish Town became the home of several piano and organ manufacturers, was described by The Piano Journal in 1901 as "...that healthful suburb dear to the heart of the piano maker". A network of streets in the East of Kentish Town has streets named after places or persons connected with Christ Church, Oxford viz: Oseney, Gaisford, Islip, Frideswide, Peckwater & Hammond.

All these streets lay behind the Oxford Arms. Some of the freehold of these streets is still in the name of Christ Church Oxford. A network of streets in the north of Kentish Town was part of a large estate owned by St John's College, Cambridge. Lady Margaret Road is named after foundress of St John's College. Burghley Road is named after Chancellor to Elizabeth I and benefactor of St John's. College Lane, Evangelist Road and Lady Somerset Road are street names linked to the estate of St John's College. In 1912 the Church of St Silas the Martyr was erected and consecrated, by December of that year it became a parish in its own right, it can still be seen today along with the church of St Luke with St Paul and the Church of St Barnabas. The present Church of England parish church is All Saints, Lupton Street. In his poem Parliament Hill Fields, Sir John Betjeman refers to "the curious Anglo-Norman parish church of Kentish Town"; this refers to the former parish Church of St John Kentish Town. Kentish Town Road contains one of London's many disused Tube stations.

South Kentish Town tube station was closed in June 1924 after strike action at the Lots Road power station meant the lift could not be used. It never reopened as a station, although it was used as an air raid shelter during World War II; the distinctive building is now occupied underground by a massage shop and on ground level by a'Cash Converters' pawn shop at the corner of Kentish Town Road and Castle Road. There have been proposals to rebuild the station. Kentish Town was to see further modernisation in the post-World War II period. However, the residential parts of Kentish Town, dating back to the mid-19th century have survived. Kentish Town is part of the Holborn and St Pancras seat, held by Labour Party MP Keir Starmer as of May 2015. Although considered traditional Labour heartland, the area has maintained a strong centrist vote. Kentish Town was an early base for the Social Democratic Party and in recent years the middle class population has returned large votes for the Green and Liberal Democrat parties.

In May 2006 the Liberal Democrats won two of the three Council seats in Kentish Town, strengthening this hold by taking the final seat in a by-election in November of the same year. In the Council elections in May 2010, Labour regained all three Council seats. In the 2011 census, 53% of the population was White British and 15% were White Other. In 2002 the comedy and drama film About a Boy was filmed in Lady Margaret Road, located at the top of Kentish Town, Oseney Crescent. Many of the filming locations used in the 2006 film Venus, starring Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker were in Kentish Town. In 1959 Lady Somerset Road and Oakford Road were used for the filming of Sapphire, a film exploring racial tension in London, directed by Basil Dearden; the Assembly House pub was the location for the 1971 film Villain starring Richard Burton. The 1993 comedy Bad Behaviour, featuring Stephen Rea and Sinéad Cu

Angelo Litrico was an Italian fashion designer. He dressed many world leaders on both sides of the Cold War and is credited with introducing fashion shows for men's clothing; the company he founded continues to this day under the control of his nephew Luca Litrico. Angelo was born in the eldest of 12 children, the son of a fisherman in Catania in Sicily, he started work with a tailor but realised that to fulfil his ambitions he would have to move to Rome, which he did in 1952. Walking down Via Sicilia, he asked for a job, which he was given, his success was ensured by a silk jacket he wore to the opera, noticed by Rossano Brazzi, the actor best known for Three Coins in the Fountain. With Brazzi as his first client, Litrico's fame spread and he bought the shop where he had started as an apprentice. One of his innovations was putting on a men's fashion show only women's wear had been shown on a catwalk, but Litrico made his mark when he was invited to participate in a 1957 export drive to Russia by the Italian fashion industry.

Litrico used photos to make a coat as a gift for Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev was so pleased with it that he commissioned a full wardrobe from Litrico for his famous trip to the US in September 1959; this included the shoes that would become famous by being slammed on the table at the United Nations General Assembly in October 1960. American journalists were so intrigued to see a well-dressed Soviet premier that they asked for the name of his tailor; when Litrico went to the USA shortly afterwards, he found himself besieged by journalists, his fame was assured. He dressed many world leaders of the era, such as John F. Kennedy, Juan Perón, Dwight D. Eisenhower, King Hussein of Jordan. Litrico was awarded several Italian orders of merit: Knight, Officer and Grand Officer, he had a close relationship with Christian Barnard which extended beyond dressing the heart surgery pioneer. He died of heart failure on 13 March 1986 at the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic in Rome after breaking his hip.

He was aged 58. After Angelo's death, his brother Franco and Sister Giusi took over the company. Franco's son Luca joined the company and since Franco's death in 2004 he has expanded the company's range under the "Franco Litrico" label until 2012, when he decided to found his label "Luca Litrico". Today Luca is bringing on the family tradition for the top expression of the tailor made Italian fashion, is promoting the Litrico Tailor Historical Archive named by Italian Ministry of National Historical Value. Shoe-banging incident Angelo Litrico at FMD Angelo Litrico on IMDb

Beauties on Motor Scooters is a 1952 Italian comedy film by Carlo Campogalliani and starring Isa Barzizza, Virginia Belmont and Fulvia Franco. Isa Barzizza as Laura Virginia Belmont as Enrichetta Fulvia Franco as Marcella Carlo Giustini as Alberto Enrico Viarisio as Carletti Linda Sini as Franca Guglielmo Inglese as Pelacardi Galeazzo Benti as Gastone Riccardo Billi Tony Amendola Maria Fiore Maurizio Arena Mario Riva Tazio Nuvolari Virgilio Riento Renato Malavasi Enrico Luzi Daniela Treveri Gennari. Post-War Italian Cinema: American Intervention, Vatican Interests. Routledge, 2011. Beauties on Motor Scooters on IMDb