On view through 26 July 2026 at the Design Museum in London is ‘Wes Anderrson: The Archives.’ Curated by Lucia Savi and Johana Agerman, it was put together in collaboration with the filmmaker born in Houston in 1969, who selected most of the 700 items on display from his large personal archive.

It showcases how Anderson has in the course of three decades built cinematographic worlds where every elements, however minimal, is conceived as a real object, artisanal and significant. Visitors can explore the visual and narrative evolution of one of the most unique and meticulous creators in contemporary film.

Organized chronologically, the show goes through Wes Anderson’s entire oeuvre, from his first short film, Bottle Rocket (1990s) –starring his frequent collaborator Owen Wilson and screened at the exhibition – to his most recent picture, The Phoenician Scheme (2025). The rooms lead to one another through a graduation of reddish tones that accompanies the succession of creative phases. On display are graphic screenplays, photographs, sketches, handwritten notebooks, costumes, props, models, and puppets.

Among the highlights are the mechanized shark of The Life Aquatic, the vending machine seen in Asteroid City, and the monumental model of The Grand Budapest Hotel, which is over 3 meters wide. The exhibition premiered at the Cinémathèque française in Paris in March 2025, and now is on view in London with an additional 300 objects, highlighting the complex, painstaking design process behind Anderson’s movies.