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 from his personal wardrobe.

The trail has been designed by Tom Piper, whose theatre and opera credits include long-running work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Tower of London poppies installation and the V&A's own Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser. Piper also designed the museum's Taylor Swift | Songbook Trail. Each of the six interventions will be theatrically staged, with some incorporating sound and light, and a public programme of related events is planned to run alongside the display.

Kate Bailey, senior curator of theatre and performance at the V&A, says the museum was "thrilled to display Freddie's most iconic costumes at the V&A, celebrating one of greatest performers and songwriters of all time." She adds: "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."

Austin, who worked closely with Mercury on his image over two decades, said his approach to costume shifted as his career grew. "As the records became more successful and the response grew stronger, his confidence deepened and his performance settled," she explains. "The clothes were part of that exploration. Freddie understood early on that he wasn't just wearing clothes; he was providing an image to match the scale of the space and the vastness of the crowd. He was there to entertain, and everything about what he wore fed into that."