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The free trail places the clothes within the V&A\u2019s permanent galleries, architecture, and collections. Each of the six stops focuses on a different moment in Mercury\u2019s career, creating connections between his performances and the museum\u2019s holdings in fashion, design, decorative arts, theater, and performance.<\/p>\n
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The exhibition<\/strong><\/a> takes its title from Mercury\u2019s 1978 remark: \u2018I like to be surrounded by splendid things. I want to lead a Victorian life surrounded by exquisite clutter.\u2018 The phrase points toward the importance of objects and clothing within his public identity. His costumes were carefully considered components of his performances, helping translate his persona across increasingly large venues and audiences.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n from the \u2018mercury wing\u2019 catsuit to the magic tour crown<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The selection spans the 1970s and 80s, beginning with a monochrome ensemble worn for an early Queen gig at Imperial College and later featured on the cover of the band\u2019s 1973 debut album.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Another key piece is the \u2018Mercury Wing\u2019 catsuit, designed by Wendy de Smet and worn during the A Night at the Opera tour in 1975\u201376. The costume also appeared in Queen\u2019s groundbreaking Bohemian Rhapsody video, connecting Mercury\u2019s stage wardrobe with the increasingly visual language of music performance during the period.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The exhibition<\/strong><\/a> continues through the later years of Queen with Mercury\u2019s signature crown and cloak, designed by Diana Moseley for the 1986 Magic Tour, an ensemble worn for Mercury\u2019s final stage appearance with Queen at Knebworth.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The trail also moves into Mercury\u2019s solo career with the costume worn in the Made in Heaven music video. Accessories and pieces from his personal wardrobe provide a quieter counterpoint to the theatrical costumes, offering glimpses of the person behind the stage persona.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n tom piper stages the costumes across the V&A<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The installations are designed by Tom Piper, whose work spans theater, opera, and exhibition design. His previous projects include productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the V&A exhibition Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser, the Taylor Swift | Songbook Trail, and the Tower of London poppies.\u00a0Piper has designed each intervention as a distinct setting. Costumes are presented alongside set dressing and, in some spaces, sound and light. Specially made mannequins are dynamically posed to evoke Mercury\u2019s stage presence, making the body and its gestures part of the display.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The approach emphasizes the relationship between costume and performance. Mercury\u2019s clothes did not simply decorate his appearances; they helped establish scale, movement, character, and atmosphere. As Mary Austin explains, he understood that he was \u2018providing an image to match the scale of the space and the vastness of the crowd.\u2019<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Opening in what would have been Mercury\u2019s 80th year, Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things also highlights the continuing cultural relevance of his visual legacy. His costumes remain recognizable because they were never separate from the performance and helped turn Mercury into a figure whose image could carry across music, fashion, film, photography, and popular culture.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n project info:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n name:<\/strong> Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things<\/p>\n artist \/ performer:<\/strong> Freddie Mercury<\/p>\n designer:<\/strong> Tom Piper<\/p>\n location:<\/strong> Victoria & Albert Museum<\/a>\u00a0(V&A) |\u00a0@vamuseum<\/a> South Kensington, London, UK<\/p>\n dates:<\/strong> October 24th, 2026 \u2013 January 17th, 2027<\/p>\n curatorial development:<\/strong> Mary Austin<\/p>\n![\"freddie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/freddie-mercury-iconic-costumes-vam-victoria-albert-museum-galleries-london-designboom-01.jpg\")
Freddie Mercury in the Made in Heaven music video | image by Simon Fowler \u00a9 Mercury Songs Ltd<\/p>\n![\"freddie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/freddie-mercury-iconic-costumes-vam-victoria-albert-museum-galleries-london-designboom-02.jpg\")
Freddie Mercury in the Made in Heaven music video | image by Simon Fowler \u00a9 Mercury Songs Ltd<\/p>\n![\"freddie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/freddie-mercury-iconic-costumes-vam-victoria-albert-museum-galleries-london-designboom-03.jpg\")
Freddie Mercury performs wearing a \u2018Flash\u2019 t-shirt at Sports Arena in San Diego, California, United States, 5th July 1980 | image by David TanShinko Music Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"freddie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/freddie-mercury-iconic-costumes-vam-victoria-albert-museum-galleries-london-designboom-04.jpg\")
Freddie Mercury, Magic Tour 1986 | image by Denis O\u2019Regan<\/p>\n