One of David Bowie’s final unrealized projects, an unseen Ziggy Stardust guitar, handwritten lyrics and Bowie’s own costume designs will be displayed for the first time as V&A East Storehouse opens its doors to the world-first David Bowie Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

The David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse. Photo by David Parry, PA Media Assignments.

A new permanent home for David Bowie’s archive – made available to the public in entirety for the first time – the Centre is first and foremost a working archive and collections store with reading areas and a study room. Visitors can book one-on-one time with their selections from the 90,000+ items in Bowie’s archive through the pioneering new Order an Object service and via appointments with the V&A Archives team.

Access to visit the David Bowie Centre is free but ticketed, with new ticket drops every six weeks. Within the first week of object appointments going live, over 500 items were requested by the public. The most popular object is a frockcoat designed by Alexander McQueen and David Bowie for his 50th Birthday Concert in 1997.

Replica of the 'Tokyo Pop' jumpsuit made by Kansai Yamamoto and worn by David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust on the Ziggy Stardust Tour, made ca. 2013. Image courtesy of the V&A.

The David Bowie Centre is brought to life with a series of nine rotating mini displays featuring approximately 200 highlights exploring different themes and elements of the archive from Bowie’s creative process and personas to his many collaborators and influences spanning Little Richard to Jungle and Drum & Bass. The central space includes a dedicated area for exploring the archive further, where visitors who have booked a ticket to see the displays can explore topic boxes housing curated selections of reproductions of archival material.

The David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse. Photo by David Parry, PA Media Assignments.

Overhead hang twenty of Bowie’s most iconic fashion and costumes in their special storage bags, from Freddie Burretti’s Ziggy Stardust looks to Agnes b’s Heathen ensembles, and Bowie’s 1992 Thierry Mugler wedding suit. A new film showcases performances and music videos spanning Bowie’s career and an interactive installation, The Library of Connections’, traces the wide-spread impact of Bowie on popular culture from the sit-com Friends to Issey Miyake fashion and musicians from Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Janelle Monae, and Kendrick Lamar.

The working archive and Order an Object service invites visitors on a personal journey to explore unseen aspects of Bowie's extraordinary creative process. Items include Bowie’s first ever instrument – a saxophone brought for him by his father in the early 1960s, iconic and unfinished costumes, stage sets, and Jim Henson-designed life size puppets of Bowie’s many personas for a music video that was never released.

Visitors in the David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse. Photo by David Parry, PA Media Assignments.

Bowie’s extensive collection of writing, sketches, storyboards, handwritten and unreleased lyrics, digital artwork, music sheets and correspondence all offer personal insights into his creative process, and the ideas behind some of his era- defining projects. Also available to order is one of Bowie’s final Ziggy Stardust ensembles, never seen in the UK, the clapperboard used for the film The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976), artwork, materials and costume related to Bowie’s 50th birthday concert in 1997, and Bowie’s original cover designs for albums Hours and Lodger, among others.

Revelations within the displays span Bowie’s prophetic writings on the future of the internet, photographs from recording sessions, his artist’s palette and self-portrait, and a series of unrealised projects. Discovered in Bowie's office after his untimely passing was The Spectator – a musical set in 18th century London.

Costume designed by Mark Ravitz and David Bowie, worn by David Bowie, to perform 'Man Who Sold the World', Saturday Night Live, 1979. Image courtesy of the V&A.

Dr Madeleine Haddon, Curator, V&A East, said: “Bowie was a pioneering multi- disciplinary creative —musician, actor, writer, performer, and cultural icon – working in a way many young creatives move fluidly across disciplines today. He was fascinated by the modern musical form and the 18th century as a threshold of modernity, shaped by the Enlightenment, advances in the arts, science, and philosophy.

“His plans for The Spectator, among other creative projects that can be seen across the displays, reveal his continual drive to experiment with boundary-pushing ideas and creative forms throughout his life and career, as well as his meticulous creative process, which visitors can delve into throughout his archive and across the David Bowie Centre’s opening displays.”

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award given to David Bowie in 2006. Image courtesy of the V&A.

V&A East Storehouse, which opened on 31 May 2025, immerses visitors in over half a million works spanning every creative discipline from fashion to theatre, streetwear to sculpture, design icons to pop pioneers. A busy and dynamic working museum store with an extensive self-guided experience, visitors can now go behind the scenes and get up-close to national collections on a scale and in ways not possible before.

For more information on the David Bowie Centre, visit vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/david-bowie-centre.

If you or your group would like to enjoy a visit to the new David Bowie Centre on a culture tour of London or the United Kingdom, please contact our friendly team today.