Culture & Arts 2 min read 1h ago

Freddie Mercury Costumes on Show at V&A

Eight Freddie Mercury stage costumes, including his Bohemian Rhapsody catsuit, will go on free display at London's V&A from 24 October 2026 to 17 January 2027.
The trail was developed with Mercury's former fiancée Mary Austin, who is personally lending seven of the eight costumes from her private collection.
The exhibition, titled Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things, marks what would have been the singer's 80th birthday.

Eight costumes worn by Freddie Mercury across his career as frontman of Queen are to go on free display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London this autumn, in a trail conceived to mark what would have been the singer's 80th birthday.

What the display will feature

The exhibition, titled Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things, runs from 24 October 2026 to 17 January 2027. Among the pieces on display is the outfit Mercury wore on the cover of Queen's debut album, as well as the catsuit he wore in the music video for Bohemian Rhapsody — two of the most immediately recognisable garments in rock history. The costumes span his career from the 1970s through to his final years.

Mary Austin's personal loan

The trail was developed in close collaboration with Mary Austin, Mercury's former fiancée and longstanding close friend, who is personally lending seven of the eight looks. Her involvement gives the display an intimate dimension: Austin has long been understood to hold one of the most significant private collections of Mercury's personal effects. The provenance of the eighth costume is not specified in the available material.

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Free admission and broader significance

Admission to the trail is free. The V&A display arrives at a moment of sustained cultural interest in Mercury's legacy, and its grounding in Austin's private collection — assembled across decades of close friendship — distinguishes it from a conventional retrospective. Whether further loans or archival material will accompany the eight costumes has not been confirmed. The exhibition closes on 17 January 2027.

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