Freddie Mercury's early stage-worn wrap-around top, with a pair of ivory satin flared trousers, 1975

Freddie Mercury's early stage-worn wrap-around top, with a pair of ivory satin flared trousers, 1975

a bespoke dancer’s top of ivory stretch velvet with three-quarter length sleeves and long ties to wrap around the waist and tie at the side, erroneously labelled ‘Wendy de Smet’; and a pair of bespoke ivory satin flared trousers, fastening at the waist with three white buttons, the interior waistband with white, red and black striped satin lining, unlabelled.

(qty 2)

This combination of wrap-around top and satin flared trousers was a staple of Freddie’s stage wear from early 1972. In June 2023, Wendy Edmonds (née de Smet) confirmed her account of how she came to make costumes for Freddie, originally published in Queen in Cornwall by Rupert White (2011). Although this top bears her label, Wendy has confirmed that she did not make any white or ivory wrap-around tops for Freddie, although she did create a plain black version in high quality stretch velvet (see lot 105). It would appear that at some point, a ‘Wendy de Smet’ label was removed from another of Freddie’s garments and sewn into this top, perhaps in a case of mistaken identity of the true designer. See also lots 40, 105, 108, 118, 141, and 143.

The white wraparound tops appear during the Night At The Opera tour of 1975, and there are photographs of Freddie wearing them on stage from around 23 February to 23 April 1975. 

Concert photographs from the mid-1970s suggest that Freddie stopped wearing this style of top as stage costume after 1975 when he moved on to wearing his famous catsuits

LITERATURE

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

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