London

Ever since The Royal Tenenbaums hit movie screens way back in 2001 we&#8217;ve been obsessed with the Wes Anderson aesthetic. Who could forget Gwyneth Paltrow&#8217;s quirky, stylish outfits as Margot Tenenbaum or Ben Stiller&#8217;s retro Adidas tracksuits? It became an instant cult classic for fashion fans and film-lovers alike. 



The Texas-born film director&#8217;s first hit was coming-of-age comedy Rushmore (1988), but it was the likes of The Royal Tenenbaums, Grand Budapest Hotel, and more recently Asteroid, that have helped make him a global name.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="634" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-E865D67E-1B76-4373-B731-C3A677C277E1-1024x634.jpeg" alt="Wes Anderson at the Design Museum " class="wp-image-16430" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-E865D67E-1B76-4373-B731-C3A677C277E1-1024x634.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-E865D67E-1B76-4373-B731-C3A677C277E1-300x186.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-E865D67E-1B76-4373-B731-C3A677C277E1-768x475.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-E865D67E-1B76-4373-B731-C3A677C277E1.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



His distinctive visual style (a complementing palette of pastel colours and plenty of symmetry), has spawned a legion of fans world-wide, tribute websites, Instagram accounts and even exhibitions &#8211; Accidentally Wes Anderson was a huge hit in London last year.&nbsp;



And now his first ever public retrospective in the UK is here, opening at the Design Museum today (21 Nov) and Muddy was invited a long for a preview.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sounds-great-what-s-on-display-nbsp">Sounds great, what’s on display?&nbsp;</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="634" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-0A09994A-4B88-4DE7-8F21-1FCD3F24E4CB-1024x634.jpeg" alt="Wes Anderson exhibition at the design museum " class="wp-image-16431" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-0A09994A-4B88-4DE7-8F21-1FCD3F24E4CB-1024x634.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-0A09994A-4B88-4DE7-8F21-1FCD3F24E4CB-300x186.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-0A09994A-4B88-4DE7-8F21-1FCD3F24E4CB-768x475.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-0A09994A-4B88-4DE7-8F21-1FCD3F24E4CB.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">© Luke Hayes for the Design Museum</figcaption></figure>



A lot. Seriously, there are 700 objects from the last thirty years to browse, so best clear the diary and put aside an afternoon when you visit. Anderson’s made twelve films in 29 years, and insisted on preserving the props and costumes himself, meticulously archiving items from each his movies (his attic must be as packed as mine). The result&#8217;s an immersive world of Wes, which fans will love and everyone else can’t fail to be impressed by the sheer volume of his work.&nbsp;



Similar to the Design Museum’s Tim Burton exhibition last year, the curated objects are arranged by film, but Anderson’s are on a whole different scale &#8211; video screens play excerpts from the movies, alongside costumes, wigs, colossal paintings, sketches and intricate models.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="672" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-21-at-07.11.22-1024x672.png" alt="Grand Budapest Hotel model " class="wp-image-16433" style="aspect-ratio:1.5238095238095237;width:639px;height:auto" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-21-at-07.11.22-1024x672.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-21-at-07.11.22-300x197.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-21-at-07.11.22-768x504.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-21-at-07.11.22.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">© Luke Hayes for the Design Museum</figcaption></figure>



Want to see Ben Stiller’s red tracksuit worn in The Royal Tennenbaums? Of course you do. Fancy getting up close to a giant pink model of the Grand Budapest Hotel? It’s another yes. Or how about the stop-motion puppets from Fantastic Mr Fox? They’re on full display (apparently it took two years to make the animation because Anderson&#8217;s such a perfectionist). You can even see the vending machines stocked with martinis and ammunition from more recent flick Asteroid City. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="634" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-F588A463-BD14-4431-B3AF-4F6EF3B96E22-1024x634.jpeg" alt="Train at West Anderson Exhibition " class="wp-image-16432" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-F588A463-BD14-4431-B3AF-4F6EF3B96E22-1024x634.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-F588A463-BD14-4431-B3AF-4F6EF3B96E22-300x186.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-F588A463-BD14-4431-B3AF-4F6EF3B96E22-768x475.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/606_980-F588A463-BD14-4431-B3AF-4F6EF3B96E22.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">© Luke Hayes for the Design Museum</figcaption></figure>



There are plenty of crowd-pleasers, sure, however it’s the more intimate items that cause you to stop and linger, such as behind-the-scenes photos and notebooks (his handwriting’s SO neat), even a printed budget and handwritten note to his dad (&#8216;here&#8217;s where your $2,000 went&#8217;) connected to his debut movie Bottle Rocket (1996), his first collaboration with actors Owen and Luke Wilson.&nbsp;



Another standout are the large, beautiful abstract paintings created by artist Sandro Kopp for The French Dispatch, another Anderson epic starring actor Benicia del Toro as painter Moses Rosenthaler.&nbsp;Want some more tea? Kopp&#8217;s partner Tilda Swinton has appeared in numerous Anderson movies, including Isle of Dogs and Asteroid City, and the couple made an appearance at the exhibition&#8217;s opening party. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-verdict">Verdict</h2>



If you want the world to be a little more Wes, you’re going to love this stylish exhibition which is a deep-dive into his craft. It provides a rare insight into Anderson’s obsession with creating movies, his meticulous attention to details and originality. It swerves looking into his personal world, however, so don’t go expecting to discover more about his back story, such as his upbringing in Houston, but if it’s a Wes World you’re after, this ticks all the boxes.&nbsp; &nbsp;



<a href="https://designmuseum.digitickets.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wes Anderson: The Archives</a>, 21 Nov-26 July , tickets from £19.69.



By Amanda Statham 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-need-more-inspo">Need more inspo?</h2>



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Review: Wes Anderson: The Archives exhibition at the Design Museum

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