3 July 2012

3 July 2012.

Freddie Mercury’s black and white harlequin stage costume sold for £22,500 at Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia sale (Tuesday 3 July 2012), in London, Knightsbridge.

Bidders competed fiercely for the iconic costume, pushing the final price well above the pre-sale estimate of £8,000 – 12,000.

Here’s the auction note:

FREDDIE MERCURY'S BLACK AND WHITE HARLEQUIN STAGE COSTUME, 1970s.

A unitard in stretch man-made fabric, V-front, with signs of wear Freddie's stage costumes were an integral part of his persona, always distinct and memorable. He wore several colour-variants of unitard and they were apparently inspired by costume worn by the legendary ballet dancer, Nijinsky, in 'Carnaval', 1910, featuring traditional commedia dell'arte characters, including Harlequin. The costumes for this ballet were designed by Léon Bakst.

In an interview in 'New Musical Express' in June 1977, Freddie referred to the appearance of the ballet costumes in his onstage wardrobe. He is quoted as saying: “I'm into this ballet thing...and trying to put across our music in a more artistic manner than before. (It) may not be quite right for rock 'n' roll...(but) if you don't try these bloody things out, you'll never know.”

It was obtained by the vendor from the Queen Fan Club.

At the same auction, the white leather ballet shoes worn by Freddie at the free concert at Hyde Park in 1976 were sold (at double the estimated amount) for £ 4,000 to an overseas buyer.