THE V&A REVISIT 'DAVID BOWIE IS' WITH NEW EDITION

Courtesy of V&A

First published alongside the V&A South Kensington’s landmark 2013 exhibition, David Bowie Is charts the polymathic force of Bowie’s five-decade career. Now, with the opening of the David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse and the public release of his vast personal archive (over 90,000 objects), the book returns in a revised edition.

Courtesy of V&A

This edition remains the only publication to have full access to Bowie’s personal holdings, including his original costumes, annotated lyrics, storyboards, set designs, and sketchbooks, offering a retrospective of the icon’s creative process and the many identities he inhabited and dissolved. From the early mod years to Space Oddity, Ziggy Stardust, Berlin, Blackstar, and beyond, the book frames Bowie not just as a musician but as a central figure in the constellation of twentieth-century avant-garde art.

Courtesy of V&A

In the age of the archive-as-experience, David Bowie Is doubles as both a tactile entry point for new audiences and a serious resource for anyone interested in the interplay between pop stardom, performance, and visual experimentation.

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The David Bowie Centre will be open daily from September 2025. V&A East Storehouse, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London.