Freddie Mercury's black and white sequinned catsuit and matching cropped jacket, late 1970s

Freddie Mercury's black and white sequinned catsuit and matching cropped jacket, late 1970s

A two-piece stage outfit comprising a black and white catsuit and corresponding jacket, the catsuit with plunging v-shaped neckline, the arms and torso encrusted with white opalescent sequins, the legs with black sequins, the corresponding cropped jacket similarly encrusted with white opalescent sequins, with high lapels, slightly gathered at the padded shoulders and lined in ivory satin, the sequins of both garments applied to a ground of stretch cotton, the neckline, leg and sleeve cuffs of the catsuit hand-stitched inside with elastic, both unlabelled – made for stage use, probably by Natasha Korniloff, designer of Freddie’s silver sequin catsuit (lot 53) and red sequin short-legged stage suit (lot 51)

(qty 2)

No photographs are known that show Freddie wearing this black and white outfit and it has no signs of wear. However, the outfit appears on the 1978 invoice that accompanies the red sequin stage suit (lot 52), which includes ‘black & silver pr tights’, at a cost of ‘110-'. The cost was £45 more than the red sequin suit, presumably to account for the addition of the jacket. The invoice reveals that this outfit was a late addition to the News Of The World tour wardrobe.

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