History | Orient Express
ORIENT EXPRESS REVELATION - Once Upon a Time… There was the future Orient Express Train
| 2022-10-25 |     |
140 years ago, Georges Nagelmackers turned his dream into reality by launching the first luxury Orient Express trains. Today, the legend continues with the unveiling of the future Orient Express train. Completely re-imagined, the old historic carriages, disappeared, forgotten, and then found again, are back in service. Prior to its launch in 2025, Orient Express reveals its never-before-seen décors revealed in Paris in an immersive exhibition.
Sébastien Bazin, Chairmain & CEO, Accor : “We are proud, today, to reveal the first images of the future Orient Express train. A story inspired by a dream, a timeless train, the object of all fantasies and which becomes a reality. Maxime d’Angeac’s design awakens the myth with the revelation of its luxury, modernity, and French elegance. Tomorrow, the Orient Express will shine again, proud of its 140 years of history and looking to the future. The legend continues.”
From October 17th to 21st, ‘Orient Express Revelation’ takes you on a journey of total immersion. Push the mysterious door open and live a unique digital experience as you discover the digital and fantastic carriages that reveal the project of architect Maxime d'Angeac. An original exploration, which reveals a train with a fabulous design, inspired by the 1920s and designed with the codes of contemporary luxury.
Fascinated by the great revolutionary artistic movements and a lover of travel novels, architect Maxime d'Angeac has been carrying out prestigious restoration and decoration projects for luxury houses such as Daum, Hermès, and Guerlain for the past 20 years. With this project, he writes the new destiny of a myth. An idea born of a dream, he explains: "this is the reinterpretation of a legendary train, conceived as a new embassy of French luxury, sublimated by the know-how and talents of the best French craftsmen”.
Orient Express unveils for the first time the decor of the future Bar-Car, a sumptuous showcase inviting passengers under large domes of light inspired by the Second Empire style. The bar area features a glass counter and an ideal tribute to René Lalique. At each table, a clock rings for cocktail and dinner times. A call button is reserved for the champagne service. Another for the staff.
Spectacular and unexpected, the Dining-Car revisits the codes of the Orient Express. Maxime d'Angeac reinterprets the "rail" motif created by Suzanne Lalique-Haviland in the 1930s, which has been reworked on the partitions using the stoneboard technique. Under a mirrored ceiling, crossed by a series of arches, tables and wrap-around armchairs line up, lit by lampshades revisiting the original models.
The Suites invite you into absolute comfort and a functional spirit. Everywhere, the corners are rounded, the partitions are covered with precious wood and leather, the headboards embroidered with wood, mother of pearl and bronze. In a niche, the famous Lalique "Blackbirds & Grapes" panels, originating from the historic train, are displayed. At the time of the "Great Transformation", the large sofas are revealed in the comfort of a large bed. A bathroom and dressing room complete the ingenious layout.
After Paris, ‘Orient Express Revelation’ will be making a stopover at Design Miami/, in Miami Beach, Florida. See you there from November 30th to December 4th.
ABOUT ORIENT EXPRESS
Artisan of travel since 1883, Orient Express sublimates the Art of Travel with its luxury trains, unique experiences, and collections of rare objects. And coming soon: its first hotels around the world, with the opening of Orient Express La Minerva in Rome and Orient Express Palazzo Donà Giovannelli in Venice in 2024. An additional project has been announced in Riyadh, the first city in the Middle East to announce the arrival of an Orient Express hotel. In parallel with the launch of the Orient Express imagined by Maxime d’Angeac, Orient Express La Dolce Vita will welcome its first passengers on board its luxury trains in 2024 – making up a full universe that will offer Orient Express travellers a complete ultra-luxury travel experience.