A letter that Lady Gaga wrote to David Bowie is currently on display at the V&A East Storehouse. Check out what it says below.
Over the weekend, the new David Bowie Centre at London’s V&A East Storehouse opened its doors, showcasing over 90,000 of the icon’s possessions and taking visitors through his life and impact on the world around him.
The Storehouse opened earlier in the spring, and contains the Glastonbury Festival Archives, costumes from PJ Harvey and Elton John, designer couture, vintage shirts, Samurai swords and many more.
One of the items featured at the exhibition is a letter penned to him by Lady Gaga, in which she shares her deep appreciation for the artist and expresses her wish to meet him in person.
“Dear David Bowie, It was truly an honor to receive an advanced copy of your album,” she wrote. “I cried, in fact, listening to each song. How does he know I exist?
“I feel as though my entire career has been an artistic plea for you to notice me. I’m finishing my album ‘ARTPOP’ and am in New York. I would be grateful and honored to meet you.”
A letter Lady Gaga wrote to David Bowie is now on display at the V&A Museum in London:
“Dear David Bowie,
It was truly an honor to receive an advanced copy of your album. I cried, in fact, listening to each song. How does he know I exist?
I feel as though my entire career has… pic.twitter.com/hyiwPo2JrS— LⱯDY GⱯGⱯ NOW🪞 (@ladygaganownet) September 14, 2025
While she doesn’t explicitly say which album of his she received an advanced copy of, the mention of her working on the ‘ARTPOP’ album puts the letter as around 2012 or 2013. This means it was likely his ‘The Next Day’ album, which arrived in 2013.
Also on display at the Storehouse are Bowie’s iconic costumes, musical instruments, make-up charts, personal notes, lyrics, sketches, designs, photos and more.
Ahead of doors opening, it was revealed that there is a note there written by Bowie which shows his favourite songs, as well as some detailing plans to work on an unfinished stage musical.
There are also curated exhibitions of objects by Bowie collaborator Nile Rodgers and super-fans The Last Dinner Party.
Curator Dr Madeleine Haddon recently spoke to NME and shared how the collection at V&A East is “not an exhibition, it’s getting behind the scenes to experience a working archive.”
“We also emphasise the breadth of his impact on popular culture: art, music, fashion. So many of the artists, creatives and designers that we love today wouldn’t be where they are today without David Bowie,” Haddon added, going on to mention the letter from Lady Gaga.
“There’s Lady Gaga, who we have a fan letter that she herself sent to David Bowie, talking about how important he has been for her career.”
Check out more details about the showcase in the full interview with the curator here.
Lady Gaga is a longtime fan of Bowie, and has frequently discussed her love for him over the years. In 2016, she performed a medley of Bowie hits at the Grammys and claimed that her “whole career is a tribute to David Bowie”.
The medley, which saw her joined by Nile Rodgers, was criticised by Bowie’s son, acclaimed director Duncan Jones, who slammed it as ‘overexcited, irrational and mentally confused’.
Gaga would then respond to the comments, telling NME: “It did hurt. But what are you going to do? It’s his father, you know. Whatever he was feeling in that moment I have compassion and love for him. But yes, of course it hurt.
“I still have to trust and believe in myself as a Bowie fan. I’m not his family, and the thing is, that’s his father. His father is not David Bowie, his father is David Jones.”
As well as the V&A East Storehouse launching the David Bowie collection, this past weekend also saw the release of a new box set, which celebrated the final years of the artist’s career.
It marked the sixth in a reissue series which has so far included: ‘Five Years’ (1969–1973)’, ‘Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)’, ‘A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)’, ‘Loving The Alien’ (1983–1988)’ and ‘Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)’.
Before then, a special edition of Bowie’s ‘Ready, Set, Go!’ live album was released for Record Store Day 2025, and his old childhood home in Bromley was put on the market.
