Now’s your chance to see Wes Anderson’s physical designs up close and personal

The legendary filmmaker’s personal collection of props, costumes and models is going on public display in London.

Love Wes Anderson, the visionary filmmaker known for his meticulously crafted visual style and distinctive storytelling? Then you’ll be excited to learn he’ll have his personal archives displayed for the first time in a landmark exhibition at London’s Design Museum later this year.

Wes has established himself as one of cinema’s most influential creative voices through films such as The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Fantastic Mr Fox. His unmistakable aesthetic—characterised by symmetrical compositions, vibrant colour palettes, and obsessively detailed set design—has inspired countless filmmakers, designers, photographers and artists across multiple disciplines.

And soon, you’ll have the chance to see his creations with your own eyes. Opening on 21 November, the exhibition Wes Anderson: The Archives will feature over 600 items from the director’s personal collection and offer an unprecedented glimpse into his creative process and meticulous approach to filmmaking.

The actual Grand Budapest Hotel

The centrepiece of the exhibition will be the 3m-wide candy-pink model of the Grand Budapest Hotel, used to make the 2014 film. This architectural marvel highlights the director’s commitment to tangible craftsmanship in an age of digital filmmaking. Visitors will also encounter original storyboards, polaroids, sketches, and Wes’s personal notebooks featuring his characteristic handwriting.

The exhibition marks the first time most of these objects have been publicly displayed in Britain, following an initial showing at la Cinémathèque française in Paris. The London presentation will include over 100 additional objects and place greater emphasis on the director’s world-building design process and his network of creative collaborators.

Aquatic puppets and Margot’s fur coat

Among the exhibition highlights are the vending machines from Asteroid City, the iconic FENDI fur coat worn by Gwyneth Paltrow as Margot Tenenbaum, and the stop-motion puppets depicting the fantastical sea creatures from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Art enthusiasts will appreciate seeing Boy with Apple, the supposedly “priceless Renaissance portrait” from The Grand Budapest Hotel: it’s actually a contemporary work commissioned by Wes from British artist Michael Taylor specifically for the film.

You’ll also get the rare opportunity to view Wes’s original 1993 Bottle Rocket short film, which later evolved into his first feature film, starring longtime collaborator Owen Wilson.

Rushmore uniform and Fox’s corduroy

The exhibition will showcase dozens of costumes, including the Oscar-winning designs from The Grand Budapest Hotel, for which Milena Canonero received the Oscar for Costume Design in 2014.

Visitors can examine the ensembles worn by some of cinema’s most memorable characters, including Max Fischer’s Rushmore Academy uniform and the full outfits of the Zissou crew. The exhibition features costumes worn by a constellation of stars, including Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton and Owen Wilson.

Meanwhile, the sections devoted to the stop-motion films Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs will display original puppets of various scales. These include Mr Fox (voiced by George Clooney) in his signature corduroy suit and show dog Nutmeg (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), alongside meticulously built miniature sets.

Props, sets and more

A major theme throughout the exhibition is the director’s highly collaborative approach. Works by his key creative partners will be displayed, including contributions from Eric Chase Anderson, Javi Aznarez, Milena Canonero, Roman Coppola, Alexandre Desplat, Erica Dorn, Mark Friedberg, Andy Gent, Juman Malouf, Roger Do Minh, Sylvia Plachy, Carl Sprague, Simon Weisse, and Laura Wilson.

The exhibition will feature finished props and sets alongside work-in-progress materials and maquettes, highlighting the director’s championing of traditional and hand-made filmmaking techniques.

His dedication to preserving these artifacts began after his first feature film, Bottle Rocket, when he discovered that everything made for the production was owned and later sold by the film’s production company. From his second feature (Rushmore) onwards, Anderson personally safeguarded every item after shooting concluded.

Rich archives

“Each Wes Anderson picture plunges the viewer into a world with its own codes, motifs, references, and with sumptuous and instantly recognisable sets and costumes,” enthuses Lucia Savi, head of curatorial and interpretation at the Design Museum and co-curator of the exhibition. “Every single object in a Wes Anderson film is very personal to him. They are not simply props; they are fully formed pieces of art and design that make his inventive worlds come to life.”

Johanna Agerman Ross, chief curator at the Design Museum and co-curator, adds: “It’s an absolute gift that even as a young filmmaker, Wes Anderson had the vision and foresight to save all his props and beautifully crafted objects for his own archive. We’re thrilled to be the first to fully dive into the archive’s full riches.”

Tim Marlow, director and CEO of the Design Museum, describes Wes Anderson as “an utterly compelling creator of cinematic worlds, whose singular vision and attention to detail are underpinned by an acute understanding of design and craftsmanship, which is why the Design Museum is the perfect location for this landmark retrospective.”

The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive new catalogue published by the Design Museum in collaboration with Wes Anderson. The book features essays by leading design and film writers, unique photography, and interviews with the director’s collaborators, including actors Owen Wilson, Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman and Tilda Swinton; composer Alexandre Desplat, musician Seu Jorge, and music supervisor Randall Poster.