Tilda Swinton - Stars Flock To David Bowie Retrospective Preview

A retrospective of the Ziggy Stardust's legend life, career, and style is set to open at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the U.K. capital on Saturday (23Mar13), and has already broken box office records after fans snapped up 50,000 advance tickets.

On Wednesday, museum bosses gave special guests a preview of the stage costumes, lyric sheets, memorabilia and artwork on display, and stars from film, music and fashion flocked to see the Bowie exhibit.

Swinton, who appeared as Bowie's onscreen wife in the video for his last single The Stars (Are Out Tonight), was one of the superstar attendees, and spoke of her longtime admiration for the rock idol.

She says, "When I was 12, I bought a copy of Aladdin Sane, and I walked around with it for two years before I had a record player, that's how important he was to me. And like a lot of people, it was the sight of him that got me first."

Actress Dawson also viewed the show, along with rocker Gallagher, Doctor Who star Matt Smith, veteran actor Bill Nighy, fashion designer Pam Hogg and artist Tracey Emin.

The launch of the exhibition coincides with the release of Bowie's first record in a decade, The Next Day, which shot to the top of the British charts upon its release last week (ends17Mar13).