On September 5, Freddie Mercury would have turned 80. And the V&A is celebrating in suitably flamboyant fashion, with a new free display of the legendary Queen frontman’s costumes opening at the Kensington museum on October 24. Eight looks – including some of Mercury’s most famous ‘fits – will form a trail that traces his career, from music videos to on-stage performances with Queen and his solo career. The trail has been created in league with Mary Austin, Mercury’s one-time fiancée and closest friend.
Two of the star’s most iconic looks will be on show. There’s the “Mercury Wing” catsuit he wore on stage during the Night at the Opera tour, which ran in 1975 and 1976, as well as in the influential Bohemian Rhapsody music video. Mercury wanted the suit, which was designed by fashion designer Wendy de Smet, to create the impression he was the god of Mercury; it was inspired by a character from Victorian artist Richard Dadd’s masterpiece The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke. Then there’s the crown and cloak Mercury donned in his final performance with Queen in 1986, at Knebworth.
“As the records became more successful and the response grew stronger, his confidence deepened and his performance settled,” Austin said in a statement. “Freddie understood early on that he wasn’t just wearing clothes; he was providing an image to match the scale of the space and the vastness of the crowd. He was there to entertain, and everything about what he wore fed into that.”
Other looks include the costume he wore in the Made in Heaven music video, as well as accessories and items from Mercury’s personal wardrobe.
The display is designed by Tom Piper, who has worked on stage designs for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the V&A exhibition Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser and the Taylor Swift Songbook Trail. A public programme of events will accompany the display.
“The clothes and costumes to be displayed at the V&A tell a hugely important part of [Mercury’s] story both on and off the stage,” Austin says. “Never mere accoutrements, his costumes and clothes were essential to his performances, creative vision, and wider self-expression, carefully designed to create a lasting visual and emotional impact that has reached across the generations and still reverberates today.”
Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things will be at the V&A South Kensington from October 24–January 17, 2027.
