Alistair Hardaker | Image: Freddie Mercury in the Made in Heaven music video. Photography by Simon Fowler © Mercury Songs Ltd
Trail developed with Mary Austin features costumes from 1970s and 80s including Mercury Wing catsuit from Bohemian Rhapsody video.
The V&A will display eight outfits worn by Freddie Mercury in a new free trail at V&A South Kensington.
‘Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things’ will mark the 80th anniversary year of the late singer’s birth. The trail has been developed with Mary Austin, Mercury’s former fiancée and close friend.
It will feature seven costumes and accessories worn in his music videos and performances, lent to the museum by Austin.
Six stops on the trail will span the 1970s and 80s. Featured costumes include a monochrome ensemble worn by Mercury for an early Queen gig at Imperial college which was featured on the cover of Queen’s debut 1973 album.
Also featured will be the ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuit designed by Wendy de Smet, worn on stage for Night At the Opera tour across 1975 and 1976, and seen in the video for Bohemian Rhapsody.
Kate Bailey, Senior Curator of Theatre and Performance at the V&A said: “Reflecting his love of ‘splendid things’ and his passion for art, design and fashion, Freddie will be very at home in the V&A galleries.”
Mary Austin said Mercury’s costumes were an integral, and carefully considered, part of his stage persona.
“As the records became more successful and the response grew stronger, his confidence deepened and his performance settled. What I saw now was an artist continuously developing while the seed of who he was stayed intact. The clothes were part of that exploration,” said Austin.
“As we celebrate Freddie’s legacy in what would have been his 80th year, the clothes and costumes to be displayed at the V&A tell a hugely important part of his story both on and off the stage.”
