V&A Unprepared for Freddie: Fashion Collection Rejected

Queen frontman Freddie Mercury was always ready to make an exhibition of himself.

But making an exhibition of his fabulous wardrobe is proving a far more torturous endeavour.

Peter Freestone, the flamboyant rocker’s long-time personal assistant and confidant, has revealed that he offered London’s Victoria & Albert Museum 1,000 items from Freddie’s collection to put on display.

But rather than snap up the offer in a flash, curators told him they couldn’t accommodate a show until at least 2030 .

‘We did want to show them at the V&A,’ says Freestone, who lived with Freddie at Garden Lodge in Kensington – just a mile and a half from the museum – for 11 years until the star’s death in 1991, aged 45. ‘They were very interested but said, ‘How about 2030?’ ‘

The treasure trove includes Freddie’s signature military jackets, his Adidas Hercules trainers, the jacket he wore on the Bohemian Rhapsody video, and his cross-dressing outfit from I Want To Break Free.

The V&A’s sluggishness contrasts to how they responded to an offer to display the fashions of Freddie’s Under Pressure collaborator David Bowie, which went from first approach to retrospective in little over two years. 

That exhibition opened in 2013 and was eventually seen by more than two million fans.

While talks with the V&A are ongoing, Freddie’s collection will first go on show in Budapest, Hungary, next year as part of an immersive experience titled The World of Freddie.

Because, as every Queen fan knows, the show must go on!

Waltzing West 

He showed his moves in the My Fair Lady stage musical with Carly Bawden, and now Dominic West fancies a crack at Strictly. 

‘I’ve always wanted to do the show,’ he told me at the Fayre of St James’s carol concert, organised by the Queen’s nephew Ben Elliot. 

Although West, 56, concedes that he may be ‘a bit long in the tooth’ to take part now.

‘They never asked me and now I can’t get out of bed. It’s quite difficult.’ 

As the daughter of Spice Girl Mel B, Phoenix Brown is a self-proclaimed nepo baby who’s making the most of her mum’s connections. 

Not only was she DJing with Sporty Spice Mel C at a Superdry event last week, she has another Spicy offspring in her sights.

She told me at the Beauty Awards that she’d love to work with Posh Spice’s son Cruz Beckham and ‘can’t wait’ for his music career to take off. 

Maybe it just needs a two-become-one collaboration!

Cora’s fallen for a Burberry punk

I hear Vivienne Westwood’s granddaughter Cora Corre has found love with a West London rapper named Slew. 

A former Burberry model, Slew’s oeuvre blends the genres of rap, grime and drill to discuss topics such as the ‘thievin’ government’. 

Perhaps this young rapper fancies himself a bit of a punk? I imagine Vivienne, the late queen of anarchy, would approve.

Cora has previously dated that nice young pop star Harry Styles. 

I hear rocker Nick Cave – the former heroin addict who was a surprise guest at the King’s Coronation – will be performing at Michael Gove’s local church, St Bartholomew The Great in The City of London, before Christmas. 

But there’s a catch: tickets are £450 each!

Miley and a Lost night

Stars who flocked to Chiltern Firehouse before the restaurant in London’s Marylebone burned down on Valentine’s Day are now streaming into a new club called Lost.

Singers Miley Cyrus, 33 and Lily Allen have been spotted at the Leicester Square nightclub. 

And I hear that Lily, 40, is hosting an ‘intimate private party’ there imminently.

Celebs are swayed by Lost’s ‘no photos’ policy, with guests asked to put stickers over the lens on their phones. 

No paps, please!

Spotted

Richard E. Grant talking Celebrity Traitors with its star Celia Imrie at Claridges at a Christmas tree unveiling.

Singer Ed Sheeran tucking into a pie with DJ Fred Again at The Blue Stoops pub, Notting Hill. 

Leonardo DiCaprio and Pierce Brosnan rubbing shoulders at hip Marylebone pub The Hart.

28 Years Later actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson looking gloomy at The Pelican, Notting Hill.

Mick Hucknall eyeing turmeric shots at Whole Foods, Kensington.