Saturday, May 25, 2019

EVENT UPDATE : SHOOTING STAR CHILDREN'S HOSPICES AFTERNOON TEA .. ROYAL LANCASTER HOTEL .. LONDON .. MAY 24TH 2019 ..

Joan spent the afternoon on Friday at the new look Royal Lancaster Hotel in London to support her favourite charity 'Shooting Star Children's Hospices', where she is Vice President.. The hotel provided an afternoon tea for guests and a sweet station which provided colour to the afternoon.. Also in attendance were Simon Cowell, Anne Hegarty, Laurence llewelyn Bowen and Windsor's favourite panto star Basil Brush!
For more info on the charity, see tne following..
THE SHOOTING STAR CHILDREN'S HOSPICE CHARITY


Friday, May 24, 2019

EVENT UPDATE : TRAMP 50TH BIRTHDAY .. TRAMP NIGHTCLUB .. JERMYN STREET LONDON .. MAY 23RD 2019 ..


Joan celebrated her birthday by toasting the legendary Tramp nightclub in Jermyn Street which is celebrating 50 years.. Founded by Joan's good friend Johnny Gold and her late brother-in -law Oscar Lerman (Jackie's husband ) Tramp holds many memories for Joan and it was a fitting place to celebrate her birthday...
A toast for the birthday girl & a glamorous cake!


Joan with Michael Caine who met his wife Shakira at the club 48 years ago!

Thursday, May 23, 2019

TV ALERT : THE LOVE BOAT .. CBS DRAMA .. FRIDAY MAY 24TH 6PM & 11PM ..


For those who havent seen Joan's episode of 'The Love Boat' you can catch it on CBS Drama tonight at 6pm & 11pm.. Joan plays a glamorous movie star who sets her sights on Captain Stubing (Gavin MacLeod) as her latest husband.. The episode also stars Delta Burke, Ron Ely & Stella Stevens... 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOAN! MAY 23RD 2019 ..


Today is a special day for all Joan's fans as its a day to celebrate her birthday.. Wishing our favourite Dame a fabulous day...

Monday, May 20, 2019

EVENT UPDATE : THE RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW VIP PRESS DAY .. ROYAL HOSPITAL CHELSEA LONDON .. MONDAY MAY 20TH 2019 ..

Joan a vision in pink turned out for the VIP Press day of The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which was also attended by Judi Dench, Christopher Biggins, Piers Morgan along with The Duchess of Cambridge who launched her 'Back to Nature' garden..
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show runs until May 25th..
Book Chelsea Flower Show Tickets Here!


Sunday, May 19, 2019

EVENT UPDATE : THEA PORTER'S SCRAPBOOK LAUNCH .. THE HOUSE OF BARNABAS LONDON .. MAY 15TH 2019



Joan a lover of fashion was delighted to attend the book launch of 'Thea Porter's Scrapbok' held at The House of Barnabas in Soho last week.. Joan who wore some cool Thea Porter designs in the 70s was joined at the launch by her good friends Theo & Louise Fennell and Barry Humphries..



Joan & Jackie on the way to a premiere 


Thursday, May 16, 2019

PRESS UPDATE : THE WEEKLY NEWS .. MAY 19TH 2019

“I still have plenty of future left in me. ”: Dame Joan Collins insists she has no plans to slow down...


By Bernard Bale

Life is never boring with Joan Collins around. Just this year she has been touring the
country with her theatre show, working on another movie and even had a fire at her home in London – all that and still so glamorous.
“I am still loving life and that is, I am sure, one of the great secrets of keeping going – to be happy with what you do,” said Joan.
“It also helps you cope with whatever is thrown at you.
“I go to bed at night looking forward to the next day and I think that is so important. If you go to bed at night dreading the next day then you cannot be happy and you really need to do something about that, otherwise stress will set in and life becomes really dreadful.
“It is true that I have had my share of disappointments and failures but the secret is not to get morose and dwell on them.
“Learn from them by all means but don’t look back wishing you had done this or that.
“Look forward and focus on what you are going to do next. I think Irish people are great at that. Despite all their setbacks in history they always look forward with a smile on their face rather than moan about the past. They remember their heritage but they always look forward to the next challenge – or the next party.
“I love parties and I love to throw parties. I like each one to be an event that will always be remembered.
“I like to organise every little detail and make sure that my parties are simply the best. I have great guests, I have good food.
“All the parties that I’ve ever given have been really good and that’s not just my opinion.”
Joan must have been far from party mood when her Belgravia apartment caught fire some weeks ago.
“It was a bit scary,” she admitted. “It was about a quarter past four in the morning and we could smell something and then hear something, and the next thing we knew was that we had a wall on fire!
“My husband Percy was brilliant – my superhero – because he grabbed a fire extinguisher and tackled the blaze before it got worse.
“The firemen turned up and finished off Percy’s work and there were some ambulances and we were treated for smoke inhalation.
“I must say that the firemen were brilliant in keeping damage to a minimum and making it all safe, and the NHS people were also fantastic – they really looked after us and made sure there were no complications.
“It was a worry at the time of course but Percy kept cool and the whole thing passed off without too much fuss.
“It is not an experience I would want to have regularly though. It was bad enough when we were flooded a few years ago. But we survive these things. You have to have a cool mind and if you have to run away you make sure you grab a lipstick.”
But it has not been all trauma for Joan this year.
During the first few months she was on tour with her one-woman “audience with” show, in which she talks about her life and career and takes questions from the countless fans who have packed the theatres.
“I love those shows because I really enjoy meeting people,” Joan explained.
“Of course you get asked the same questions in the different places, but you get some really unusual and nice questions too, and I often try to remember them for the next time I am being interviewed.
“We have a lot of fun and laughter during those evenings too and that is what I am about really – having fun.”
Joan does have her serious side of course.
“I support a number of charities but I like to do more than just be a token patron. They are all serious issues that need to be addressed and I do whatever I can to turn the spotlight on them and to try to help and make a difference to the lives of others. That sounds a bit twee but I mean it.”
Joan still radiates glamour and fun. She constantly receives huge amounts of fan mail and regular offers of new films or TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic, which is probably why she has homes both in Britain and the US.
“It gives us the best of both worlds,” she revealed. “I like America and get on well with Americans, so we spend a fair bit of time there, but I am born and bred a Londoner and I still feel at home here – even though it has changed so much and is hardly recognisable as the wonderful city I grew up in and adored.
“I guess you have to move with the times but I do miss some of the London I grew up with. It is not the same these days but I still enjoy being here and I still like to see Regent’s Park where I used to go as a child with Jackie, my sister.
“I like to think about the past but I don’t dwell on it, I still have plenty of future left in me. I am only in my 80s! I hope to be around for another 20 years yet and I mean to make sure I keep busy. There is no way you will hear me talking about retirement, I enjoy my work and keeping busy far too much.”
Not only has Joan been busy on a theatre tour this year, but she has also been filming for the modern TV series Hawaii Five-0 and appearing in American Horror Story..
“Television has changed a lot and when you appear in an episode of a series it is almost like making a film. If you are in a series then it is a series of films.
“It doesn’t matter about the size of the screen, the production itself can be as huge for TV as for the cinema. I enjoy both and intend to do a lot more yet.
“I like breaking new ground and that is not always easy because people see you in one kind of role.
“For me, it has almost always been glamorous for many, many years but I love doing comedy. It is back to creating laughter again. Laughter is such great medicine.
“Even making American Horror Story is funny. In the series I am a cannibal but I am also a witch, I am also an ex-movie star and the wife of the ex-head of MGM so I get to be sinister, scary, witty and really catty at times. Great fun.”
That just about sums up Dame Joan Collins – she is just such great fun and looks like being so for many years to come.

Thursday, May 9, 2019

PRESS UPDATE : DAILY MAIL .. MAY 9TH 2019 ..

Darlings, I really did have a ball! Joan Collins was a Cinderella who'd never been invited to fashion's most fabulous gala... until this year. Now read her riotous, star-spangled account of a night she'll never forget!



Five months ago, when I was first invited to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's famous 'Met Gala' in New York, my first thought was 'What shall I wear?'
I mean, you would, wouldn't you? Even royalty in the form of Princess Diana has attended.
Every year the ball, held in aid of the museum's celebrated costume institute, has a different theme.
This year it was 'camp', which the dictionary defines as 'deliberately exaggerated and theatrical in style, typically for humorous effect'.

It's a daunting prospect to achieve this, competing with all the high-powered style and glamour while remaining dignified. But having been invited by the fashion house Valentino, I was comforted by the fact that its wunderkind, head designer Pierpaolo Piccioli, was going to design a dress for me.
As I fretted about what that design would be, my PR Jeffrey Lane, who was co-ordinating with Valentino's people, soothed my fevered brow: 'They said leave it all to him. Pierpaolo will send you the sketches.'
Six weeks passed and no sketches arrived. 'Don't worry,' counselled Kate, the Valentino PR, 'we can organise a dress in a week — we did it last year for Lady Gaga.' Another month passed and now I was in full-blown panic. This was the Met Gala! My first one!
Finally they arrived, five beautiful fashion sketches — exquisitely packed and boxed in Valentino boxes trimmed with white ribbon — of dresses that were, oh, dear me, a bit too 'ingenue' for me.
Pierpaolo and I went into full collaboration mode from that moment on, with texts, emails, photos, hand drawings and hasty calls placed at various hours of the day to account for the time difference from LA to Rome.
And, with four weeks to go before the grand event, another Valentino box arrived, hand-couriered from Rome to London for my first fitting, containing a dress in heavy white silk faille ruffles, absolutely covered in feathers.


Camp? Oh yes, completely. I adored it and decided to camp it up some more with diamonds by the yard.
I wasn't about to borrow from any of the jewellers, as that would entail being shadowed by security officers in scenes reminiscent of Ocean's Eight, so my favourite LA stylist Rene Horsch and I combed the shops for gorgeous costume jewellery and capped it with a zenith of camp — a tiara.
My husband Percy and I arrived in New York on the Thursday before the big day, which is always the first Monday in May. On Friday morning and Saturday afternoon I had the final fittings with the great designer himself. 'Call me pee-pee,' said Pierpaolo Piccioli. 'I'll try,' I replied.
He was great fun, and a wonderfully receptive designer who appreciated my feedback, even when I added more feathers. He took in the bodice as I'd lost weight since the last fitting, and added more and more feathers. I did my hair, make-up and tiara placement at home and went to the Pierre Hotel to get dressed and meet the rest of the Valentino coterie.
We mustered the group in the main lobby — beautiful and talented Julianne Moore looking resplendent in shimmering green, British music legend Mark Ronson, Chinese musical phenom Lay Zhang, waiflike warbler lovely Lykke Li and the glorious and striking model Adut Akech.
We stepped into the courtyard of the hotel to what felt like an opening night with about 200 fans gathered around, whooping and cheering and dozens of paparazzi snapping jauntily.
We piled into two huge SUVs of the type that Donald Trump uses for his flotilla — not easy to do in a massive crinolined skirt. The traffic was an utter nightmare, with bumper to bumper jams, so we passed the time watching the arrivals on Vogue's Instagram feed.
We saw Lady Gaga do her camp striptease on the pink carpet. She arrived in a huge fuchsia hooded outfit with a cape, surrounded by male dancers in tuxedos brandishing black umbrellas. She strutted and posed for the cameras then stripped down to a black gown.


'She's Lady G, she gets away with it,' said Carlos Souza, the brand ambassador for Valentino. We were thoroughly entertained. Dear Lady G — thanks for lightening the tedium of NY traffic!
Then — hello! — entertainer Billy Porter arrived as Cleopatra held aloft by a half-dozen, half-naked men. He was completely covered in gold sequins, sporting golden wings.
Two great performing artists, performing magically. Serena Williams, one of the chairs of the committee, arrived in yellow sneakers — smart, I thought.
We finally arrived at the traditional and austere facade of the Metropolitan Museum, which was a vision decorated in pink flowers, pink feathers and gigantic pink flamingos which, according to the doyenne of fashion, Vogue editor and chair of the ball Anna Wintour, are the quintessence of camp.
We shuffled along impatiently in a long queue before we were allowed onto the red — no, pink — carpet. I had to manoeuvre past vast trains, and duck armies of make-up and hair experts all tweaking bits of their clients.
It was a little like standing in line at the Waitrose checkout in a lunchtime rush, except you were surrounded by the likes of Idris Elba, handsome in a heavily embroidered jacket, and RuPaul, all 6ft 5in of him in a multi-coloured sequin pant suit. Tom Ford, looking soigne in a simple dinner jacket with a white gardenia, came to give me a big hug.
Then the diva of divas and the last of our Valentino team, the stunningly beautiful Naomi Campbell, joined us, glittering in a pink lace body suit topped with a huge floating pink-plumed cape and train.
A man, holding a piece of plastic, knelt before her and fanned her feathers so they fluttered prettily. A human wind machine — clever. We all hit the pink carpet together. The photographers whooped then ordered us around as we all stood arm in arm.
Naomi put her arms around my shoulders for a hug and I almost toppled over. I don't know how Victorian ladies managed their corset and crinoline but I consoled myself with the thought that they didn't have to wear 6in stilettos and have 5,000 cameras trained on them, while hordes of fans yelled and screamed.
I was gasping for a drink by now and worried we were late as it seemed we had been on the carpet for at least two hours. Another flight of stairs followed another flight of stairs and we arrived at a group of brilliantly costumed guests all swigging cocktails and looking relaxed.

'A glass of white wine, please,' I croaked to a waiter, then said hello to Demi Moore, chic in a YSL tuxedo; the Delevingne sisters, Poppy and Cara, the latter wearing the highest platform shoes I've ever seen; and Kate Moss looking gorgeous in silver sequins. Lily Collins and I laughed about the days we lived in the same building in LA and the postman constantly misdirected our mail to each other.
As I took a grateful sip of my wine Carlos took me by the arm to be interviewed by the fashion journals. After one more sip he dragged me off again — to dinner, I hoped. But another queue loomed ahead. People chatted excitedly while manoeuvring their trains and huge headdresses as we moved agonisingly slowly, one by one, negotiating yet another set of pink carpeted steps.
I was fascinated by how Katy Perry managed her chandelier so gracefully and then disappeared into the bathroom to return for dinner dressed as a hamburger.
Finally, we arrived at dinner — an exquisite panorama of pink. I managed to stumble to our table, my feet now throbbing.
'Hurry up and eat — Anna likes to get things going so we can watch the entertainment,' whispered Carlos. I rushed through my delectable tomato tartlet but was unable to face the fabulous fillet steak, which I knew from past experience would haunt me for the rest of the evening.
An ominous crash of music preceded Lady Gaga on the stage, casually dressed in bra, knickers and fishnets, who gave a speech about loving each other, inclusion and diversity, and embracing your 'inner camp'.
She introduced the stars of Pose, Ryan Murphy's new TV series about the trans movement in Eighties Manhattan. Ryan himself was there in top-to-toe sequins, channelling Liberace perfectly. It's the rumour that he suggested the theme for this year, so he certainly 'walked the walk' of which he talked.
As dancers filled the stage, they parted to reveal the icon of icons — Cher. This was a great and delightful surprise as the entertainment is a closely guarded secret. The legend was dressed down in ripped jeans, a tiny top, an anorak and a long blonde wig — the complete opposite of camp, but nevertheless wonderful and ageless.
Bette Midler, wearing a top hat and tailcoat in glittery black sequins, came to our table and boogied with Julianne Moore, and I glimpsed Gwyneth Paltrow and Katie Holmes doing the same.


Cher left after her first number and came back wearing , it seemed, her original Bob Mackie-style sleek black embroidered bodysuit and a massive black curly wig, and sang Believe. Harry Styles jumped on the table in front of us in a see-through blouse and pussycat bow, obscuring our view and ignoring our entreaties to get down.
The people started to get up to leave — and fast! Bella Hadid, looking chic and exquisite in a black sheath with long beaded gloves, actresses Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o and Emma Roberts, and supermodel Karlie Kloss led the troops in the massive exodus.
Managing to ooze past this wall of names, pandemonium reigned as everyone tried to find the cars, limos and truck. It was a frenzy, so Pierpaolo lent me his jacket as two of NY's finest — the policemen tasked to protect us all — looked genuinely thrilled as Billy Porter and I chatted with them while we waited for our carriages.
We finally arrived at Hunter College, the venue of the Gucci after party, where guards were efficiently turning away anyone who was not on the list.
Inside, we were escorted by the security officer to a basketball gymnasium, the scores of the last game still posted on the board and 'Go Hawks!' posters on the walls. Within a minute someone fell and tipped the table over, which tipped my glass of wine all over my feathers. 'Time to leave!' said Percy firmly, to which I agreed weakly, thinking: 'My feet will never be the same again.' I must have walked five miles.
But what an experience it was. I loved my first Met Gala and I would certainly go again in a heartbeat, although at $30,000 a seat I'll wait to be invited!

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

FASHION UPDATE : VOGUE - VALENTINO & THE MET .. TUESDAY MAY 7TH 2019 ..


Joan Collins on Why She Wanted to Honor The House of Valentino (and Alexis Carrington!) at the Met Gala..



Joan Collins really got into character for the Met Gala last night. Just before walking the red carpetDame Collins shared a video on Valentino’s social media accounts in which she declared, “I’m Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan and I’m wearing Valentino Haute Couture for the Met Ball.” Indeed, the legendary actress certainly looked the part of the love-to-hate-her lead Alexis, whom she played on the famed 1980s television show Dynasty. The white feathered gown with tiered ruffles, which she topped off with loads of diamonds and a tiara, is exactly the kind of fashion excess that Alexis, via Collins, embraced with wide-open arms back in the day. In fact, she turned it into a full-on fashion trend. Despite the camp-appropriate, tongue-in-cheek throwback, however, there was in fact a more sentimental reason that Collins chose to wear Valentino to this year’s gala. She and Valentino Garavani, founder of the house, have been dear friends for decades.
Joan with Valentino in the 80's in Gastaad

“I first met him in 1968 in Rome,” Collins said post-event, this morning, over email. “I was looking for something to wear at a TV appearance and someone suggested a new young designer who would be happy to dress me. Since then, Signor Garavani and I have been very close friends and have enjoyed collaborating together. He’s designed several outfits for my movies and TV appearances throughout the decades, which I hope now to continue with his deserving successor Pierpaolo.” And so she has, starting last night with, in Collins’s words, the “elegant, royal, glamorous, magical” Pierpaolo Piccioli–designed gown. The process all started, according to the actress, “two months ago, when Pierpaolo started to send me several wonderful sketches and we spoke almost on a daily basis to fine-tune the design.” Collins notes of her plumed ensemble, “He must have thought I was mad because I insisted on more and more feathers!” The look certainly spoke to Susan Sontag’s note that camp is “a woman walking around in a dress made of three million feathers.” For Collins, whose hair and makeup for the red carpet was done by stylist Joey Maalouf, it was also about the tiny glittering crown atop her head: “What’s more camp than a tiara?”
Joan pre-event with PeirPaolo

When it was time for Collins to walk into the gala with her new friend and fashion fairy godfather Piccioli, she thought lovingly about her long history with Garavani and realized the moment, after years of dressing in Valentino—both for the red carpet and onscreen—was nothing short of “surreal.” It was also, she said, “very hard to maneuver 50 pink steps in a massive skirt and 5-inch heels.” If anyone could pull off such a feat in Valentino Couture, it’s Collins—with a little help from the divine spirit of Alexis Carrington, of course.

EVENT UPDATE : THE MET GALA 2019 - INSIDE .. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART .. NEW YORK .. MAY 6TH 2019

Joan with Ezra Miller & Bette Midler
Here are some super shots of Joan inside The Met Gala with other guests including Naomi Campbell & Better Midler...
Joan with Naomi Campbell

Joan with Pier Paolo Piccioli, Naomi Campbell & Adut Akech

EVENT UPDATE : THE MET GALA 2019 - ARRIVALS .. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART .. NEW YORK .. MAY 6TH 2019 ..

Joan all set for the ball with Mark Ronson, Lykke Li, Julianne Moore, Pier Paolo Piccioli, Yixing
Joan looked the ultimate Dame if not Queen of the red carpet as she arrived for the 2019 Met Ball in NY.. The theme of this years event is Celebrating Camp and among the other stars appearing were Celine Dion, Better Midler, Ryan Murphy, Naomi Campbell, Sara Paulson, Jennifer Lopez, Tom Ford among many others...






Monday, May 6, 2019

EVENT UPDATE : HARPER'S BAZAAR GLENDA BAILEY CELEBRATION .. THE CARLYLE NYC .. NEW YORK .. MAY 5TH 2019 ..

Joan currently in New York to attend the Fashion event of the year The Met Gala, enjoyed a night at The Carlyle Hotel to help Harper's Bazaar editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey celebrate her recent Damehood.. Other guests included Lauren Hutton, Tommy Hilfiger, Caroline Herrera, Naomi Campbell, Marc Jacobs, Kris Jenner & Demi Moore among others..
Joan with Kris Jenner

Joan with Glenda and Valentino creative director Pier Paolo Piccioli