There’s something in the air between the Design Museum and idiosyncratic film directors at the moment. With an exhibition on Tim Burton welcoming in record numbers to the West London space, they’ll be welcoming in the weird and wonderful work of Wes Anderson next year.
The Design Museum announced the news of Wes Anderson: The Exhibition last year, which will mark the first retrospective look at the famous director, and details of the objects on display have just been announced.
Wes Anderson: The Exhibition
A meeting between the minds of the Design Museum and Wes Anderson will let visitors into the working of the director’s brain as they see work from his first filming experiments all the way up to his most recent pictures.
In conjunction with Cinémathèque française, it’ll be the very first time exhibitiongoers have the chance to truly examine the work of the whimsical director, with an overview of his entire filmography and all the motifs and references that go into everything from Rushmore [1998] to Asteroid City [2023].
Take a look at Max Fischer’s Swiss army knife from Anderson’s first film before marvelling at the spectacular model of The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014] that was used to capture the building’s facade and then examining the coat Gwyneth Paltrow wore in 2001 as Margot Tenenbaum. In fact, there will be dozens of costumes across the entire exhibition featuring garms worn by his star-studded assembly of actors featured in his movies, including Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Benicio Del Toro, Ralph Fiennes and many more.
Also featured at the exhibition is a full 14-minute screening of Bottle Rocket, the short film created in 1993 and featuring Owen Wilson. There will even be a number of Wes Anderson’s spiral-bound notebooks to gain an insight to his creative process; and a stop motion section will also show off original puppets used in Fantastic Mr Fox [2009] and Isle of Dogs [2018].
Wes Anderson: The Exhibition will be peppered with pieces that tell a tale of his career, including items from his collection. It’ll be a unique way to explore his impact on the modern world of cinema, and, of course, take in more of the gorgeous colourful scapes he’s famed for capturing!
‘Wes Anderson: The Exhibition’ will run at the Design Museum from November 21, 2025 – May 4, 2026, with tickets on sale now. Find out more here.