Inside the V&A’s Archive David Bowie Exhibition

There’s no discussion that the late-great David Bowie is a British icon. And one which certainly had a penchant for the dramatic. The red-haired, chest-baring, jumpsuit-wearing singer, with his signature lightning bolt painted across his face, will always be remembered as the face of Glam Rock who successfully captured the hearts and minds of generations of music fans.

In celebration of Bowie’s life and career, The V&A East Storehouse this Saturday will allow the public to explore the Starman’s very own galaxy of creativity. The exhibition is comprised of over 90,000 items, which reveal aspects of Bowie’s extraordinary artistry. Some displays will focus on ideas and unrealised projects, such as an idea to adapt George Orwell's 1984, Young Americans and Diamond Dogs films. Others will focus on his various personas, including, of course, Ziggy Stardust.

For the exhibition, the V&A has collaborated with award-winning music legend Nile Rodgers, who produced Bowie’s Let’s Dance and Black Tie White Noise, and was a friend of the singer. On their relationship, Rodgers said that their “bond was built on a love of music that had both made and saved [their] lives”. His selection includes some of their personal correspondence, photos, and Bowie’s bespoke Peter Hall suit from the Serious Moonlight tour and Let’s Dance album.

Brit Award recipients, The Last Dinner Party, whose own music and performances have been inspired by Bowie, also served as guest curators. They made sure to highlight Bowie’s musical prowess by choosing to showcase his elaborate handwritten lyrics and “suitcase synth” which was used on various Bowie albums.

The V&A East Storehouse, which only opened earlier this summer, is a vast collection – spanning four levels and bigger than 30 basketball courts – and home to over half a million objects, books and archives from the V&A. One of the best features of the Storehouse is that it allows anyone to request an object and examine it up close. The function is available for the David Bowie archive, so fans will be able to get a private audience with some of his costumes, musical instruments, models, props and scenery. 

Bowie’s impact on pop culture is ever enduring. He is so assimilated into the zeitgeist that he’s been referenced in everything from Friends and Issey Miyake’s collections to the music of Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar and more. The exhibition is more than a retrospective, it’s an opportunity to inhabit the orbit of one of the most talented and most talked-about multi-disciplinary artists of our time.