See the highly detailed props, costumes and sets from Wes Anderson's 'Asteroid City', now on display at a London Pop-Up Show

Wes Anderson is a nostalgic merchant. At times, his films feel like elaborate exercises in joining idiosyncratic characters by looking back. Anderson visited the golden age of print journalism, stayed in the lost grandeur of European sanatoriums, led a train through old-world India, and now traveled to 1950s America with city of asteroidswhich debuted at Cannes and is out June 23.

The film’s title is somewhat of a misnomer: Asteroid City has a population of 87 and is named after a meteor that landed in 3007 BCE. The film revolves around a convention commemorating this event (cue nostalgia). Although it perfectly replicates a desert southwest town with a one-pump gas station and a cozy lunch, city of asteroids was built and shot under the Spanish sun in Chinchón, an hour south of Madrid.

Fans can explore the characteristically detailed props, costumes, and sets that make up Anderson’s final world in “Exhibition on the city of asteroids», a London pop-up staged by 180 studios and Universal Studios, which runs through July 8.

Vending Machines, Asteroid City Exhibition, 180 Studios, London

“Asteroid City Exhibition” vending machines. Photo courtesy of 180 Studios, London.

The film aesthetically captures the idiosyncrasies of America in the 1950s, setting the pitfalls of its technological advancement against the backdrop of its timeless arid plains. It was, as the film’s press release notes, “an era of heightened political anxiety accompanied by fears over falling missiles and the pop culture explosion of fascination with aliens and other interplanetary visitors”.

This way, the installation exhibit feels both futuristic and retro. It takes the audience back to a time when Levi made clothes for manual workers, a hamburger was 35¢, and Pluto was still a planet. But it also features a neon green spaceship and a bank of vending machines including a vending machine, a location the director originally planned to stage the entire film in.

Movie shooting billboard at “Asteroid City Exhibition”. Photo courtesy of 180 Studios, London.

For a sense of scenery, there’s the billboard advertising the meteorite site the town is famous for and the miniature freight train that cuts through the desert. For costumes, there’s Augie Steenbeck’s (Jason Schwartzman) full khaki outfit, junior stargazer Clifford Kellogg’s (Aristou Meehan) all-white uniform, and precocious teenage scientist Dinah Campbell’s (Grace Edwards) summer dress. ).

Those wishing to take home a piece of Anderson’s dream home in the desert can stop by the gift shop or grab a bite inside the linoleum-floored luncheonette, where prices are, of course, far from retro.

See more images from the exhibit below.