The Design Museum in London presents Wes Anderson: The Archives, a sweeping new show running from November 21st, 2025 to July 26th, 2026. This landmark exhibition opens a rare window into the director’s personal trove of costumes, props, sketches, and puppets—many of which have never been shown publicly. From the outset, the exhibition positions itself as the most comprehensive Wes Anderson exhibition to date, inviting visitors into the meticulous, handcrafted universe that has shaped his unmistakable visual style.
Inside the Wes Anderson exhibition: a journey through his cinematic imagination
Spread across a series of interconnected rooms on the museum’s ground floor, the exhibition traces Anderson’s career chronologically, mapping the evolution of his aesthetic from the 1990s to today. With more than 700 objects on display, ranging from original storyboards to miniature sets, this exhibition showcases a filmmaker who treats every detail as an opportunity for narrative expression.
Two early sections focus on Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums, presenting hand-drawn sketches, early photographs, and key costumes that reveal the foundations of his visual language. Visitors then encounter one of the most striking displays: the silicone, mechanised jaguar shark from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, accompanied by the bright blue uniforms that became emblematic of the film’s playful yet poignant world.
A dedicated central area celebrates Anderson’s stop-motion achievements. Here, exquisitely crafted puppets from Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs demonstrate the depth of his artisanal process—from tiny corduroy suits to intricately engineered facial mechanisms. These models sit beside miniature sets and behind-the-scenes materials, offering rare insight into the handcrafted art that defines his animation projects.
Designing the universe: exhibition architecture and colour
The exhibition design, led by Ab Rogers, mirrors the tactile, colour-saturated world that defines Anderson’s films. Each room adopts a distinct hue connected to a specific production: cherry red introduces Bottle Rocket, while dusty pink signals the arrival of Asteroid City. This gradient of colour acts as a visual thread, pulling visitors seamlessly from one cinematic era to the next.
Architectural partitioning also shapes the experience. Narrow windows are cut into the exhibition walls, offering glimpses of the next section—much like a series of narrative teasers. This approach creates the sensation of moving through interconnected film sets, where moments of concealment and revelation guide the visitor’s journey.
The result is an environment that feels both immersive and intimate: a curated world built not just to display objects, but to reflect the rhythm, charm, and layered storytelling of Anderson’s filmmaking.
Highlights from Anderson’s archive
The exhibition brings together a series of standout pieces that illuminate key moments in Anderson’s creative evolution. Among them is the candy-pink model of The Grand Budapest Hotel, an architectural miniature that distills the film’s nostalgic, alpine grandeur. Nearby, the stop-motion creatures from The Life Aquatic showcase the fantastical sea animals crafted through intricate puppetry, complete with their original armatures. The display also includes Margot Tenenbaum’s iconic FENDI coat, a defining costume from The Royal Tenenbaums that highlights the importance of fashion in shaping Anderson’s characters. Adding to this progression are props from Asteroid City, from retro vending machines to stylized structural details, all evoking the film’s distinctive retro-futurist desert atmosphere.
Together, these works demonstrate a career founded on an obsession with craftsmanship, where the costumes, props and sets carry as much emotional weight as the characters.
