V&A to display eight Freddie Mercury stage looks in free fan trail this autumn

The exhibition Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things opens at V&A South Kensington on 24 October and was developed with Mary Austin, the former fiancée and primary heir of the late singer, who is lending seven of the eight looks on display. Timed to the 80th anniversary of Mercury's birth and soread across six stops in the museum's galleries, the trail traces Mercury's career from Queen's early days through to his solo work. Each stop pairs a costume with a set , drawing on the V&A's existing collection and the architecture of the building; mannequins have been made specifically for the display and posed to echo Mercury's stage movements. The looks on show span 1973 to the late 1980s and among them is the monochrome outfit Mercury wore for an early Queen gig at Imperial College, later used on the cover of the band's 1973 debut album, and the "Mercury Wing" catsuit, designed by Wendy de Smet, worn on the A Night at the Opera tour of 1975 and 1976 and seen in the "Bohemian Rhapsody" video. Mercury's crown and cloak, designed by Diana Moseley, also feature, and the trail closes with the costume from the "Made in Heaven" video, representing Mercury's solo years, alongside items fro...