Freddie Mercury's 'Spine Suit' – a 'Black Queen' catsuit by Wendy de Smet worn on stage for the A Night At The Opera tour, 1975-1976

Freddie Mercury's 'Spine Suit'

A 'Black Queen' catsuit by Wendy de Smet and hand-decorated By Freddie Mercury, worn on stage for the A Night At The Opera tour, 1975-1976

a catsuit of black stretch satin slashed to the waist at the front with angular, shaped neckline decorated either side at the top with several frond-shaped tabs, the deep-cut front and long narrow sleeves with zip fastenings, the back applied with a ridged ‘spine’ of padded satin cut in a jagged pattern and studded either side with double row of large imitation diamonds, both sleeves and shoulders similarly decorated, the catsuit with slightly flared legs, label removed at neck - the ‘jewelled’ embellishments hand-sewn by Freddie Mercury

The ‘Black Queens’ were made by Wendy de Smet in the autumn of 1975 to coincide with the start of the tour promoting the album A Night At The Opera. The designer made two versions this one (see also lot 152). They represented the evil counterparts to the White ‘Mercury Wing’ outfits and although similar in basic design were cut with a radically lower neckline, and were worn with a pair of platform shoes (probably lot 147).

In conversation with Wendy Edmonds (née de Smet) in June 2023, she explained how involved Freddie had been with the concept of the design of his iconic catsuits: "he wanted [the two black suits] to look more evil as [they] symbolized the Black Queen”. He had provided the designer with the high quality stretch satin fabric she was to use in the construction of both the darkly symbolic significant ‘Black Queen’ costumes and their ‘good’ white Mercurial Wing counterparts. She confirmed to us that she had designed both the evil Queens in plain black without any decoration and that Freddie had sewn any jewelled adornments on himself: “Freddie knew how to sew. He was pretty good, so for example, he’d at least sew on sequins himself". De Smet's account of her designs for Freddie’s famous white ‘Mercury Wing’ and their dark ‘Black Queen’ counterparts was originally published in Rupert White's Queen in Cornwall.

The visual contrast between black and white was central to Queen's visual image in the early years of their career. It symbolised the struggle between good and evil that was at the core of the fantasy elements of Queen's early lyrics, epitomised by two tracks on Queen II: May's 'White Queen' and Mercury's 'March of the Black Queen'. The album itself was divided into 'Side White' (predominantly written by Brian May) and 'Side Black' (with Freddie Mercury as chief composer). Freddie and the band’s devotion to this visual juxtaposition continued throughout 1975-76. Freddie’s collaboration with Wendy de Smet meant his spectacular stage costumes were a perfect manifestation of the strong theme.

LITERATURE

‘Rupert White, Queen In Cornwall, Antenna Publications, 2022, 2nd Edition, pp.276-277

Freddie Mercury – The Great Pretender, A Life In Pictures, Welbeck, 2012

Phil Sutcliffe with Peter Hince, Mick Rock, Reinhold Mack and Billy Squier, Queen The Ultimate Illustrated History of The Crown Kings of Rock, Voyageur Press, 2009

Mick Rock and Queen, Killer Queen, The Official Limited Edition, Genesis Publications, 2003, pp. 33, 40, 41, 125, 128 & 129.

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