News · 25 August 2026
Freddie Mercury’s Iconic Costumes to Go on Display at the V&A
A new Freddie Mercury V&A exhibition will bring eight of the Queen frontman’s most recognisable looks to London this autumn, marking what would have been the singer’s 80th birthday year. The free temporary trail, Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things, will open at the V&A South Kensington on 24 October 2026 and run until 17 January 2027.
The display has been developed with Mary Austin, Mercury’s former fiancée and close friend, and will trace his career through costumes and accessories associated with performances, music videos and his life away from the stage. Seven of the eight looks are being loaned by Austin.
Rather than presenting the clothes as simple memorabilia, the V&A is using them to explore how Mercury built one of popular music’s most distinctive visual identities. The trail will be arranged across six stops in the museum’s permanent galleries, with specially made mannequins posed to evoke the physicality and theatricality of his performances.
Eight looks spanning Freddie Mercury’s career
Among the earliest pieces is the monochrome outfit Mercury wore for an early Queen performance at Imperial College. It subsequently appeared on the cover of the band’s self-titled debut album in 1973, linking the group’s earliest visual identity with the stage persona Mercury would continue to develop.
Another major inclusion is the so-called “Mercury Wing” catsuit, designed by Wendy de Smet. Mercury wore the striking costume during Queen’s A Night at the Opera tour in 1975 and in the video for Bohemian Rhapsody, making it part of the imagery surrounding one of the band’s defining songs.
The trail will also feature the crown and cloak designed by Diana Moseley and worn during Queen’s 1986 Magic Tour. Mercury wore them at Knebworth that August, which became his final live performance with Queen. The inclusion gives the display a clear arc, moving from the band’s early years to the final chapter of Mercury’s touring career.
Other pieces extend beyond the most familiar stage costumes, with clothing and accessories intended to offer a closer look at the person behind the public image.
A free London celebration in Mercury’s 80th year
Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on 5 September 1946, meaning this September marks the 80th anniversary of his birth. The timing gives the Freddie Mercury V&A exhibition particular significance, arriving weeks after the anniversary and placing his fashion and design choices at the centre of the celebration.
V&A senior curator of theatre and performance Kate Bailey said the museum was “thrilled to display Freddie’s most iconic costumes”, describing his passion for art, design and fashion as a natural fit for the V&A.
Austin, meanwhile, has emphasised that Mercury’s clothes were integral to his creativity rather than decorative additions. In comments released with the announcement, she described the costumes as essential to his performances, creative vision and self-expression, designed to make a lasting visual and emotional impression.
That approach is particularly appropriate for an artist whose image became inseparable from his music. Mercury could move between the dramatic theatricality of a winged catsuit or royal cloak and the stripped-back white vest and jeans associated with Queen’s Live Aid performance, while remaining immediately recognisable.
Freddie Mercury’s continuing cultural legacy
The V&A display also reflects the continuing place Mercury occupies in British music culture. Queen achieved six UK number-one singles and ten UK number-one albums, while Mercury also established a solo career that included the 1985 album Mr Bad Guy and his later collaboration with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé on Barcelona.
Mercury died in November 1991, aged 45, from bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS. More than three decades later, his music, performance style and unapologetically theatrical presentation continue to reach new audiences.
Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things will be free to visit at the V&A South Kensington from 24 October 2026 until 17 January 2027. A related public programme is also planned alongside the display.