Paris – Starting from the origin of a style and capturing its contemporary resonance… The exhibition 1925 – 2025: A Century of Art Deco reveals the current relevance of the alliance between the virtuosity of the decorative arts and technical audacity – two masterful expressions of French excellence.
Supported by Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of Accor, Orient Express is the main partner of the exhibition, celebrating the centenary of the Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925. Since that golden age, Orient Express has transcended time – today witnessing its rebirth, with a continued commitment to excellence, elegance, and meaning, under the artistic direction of architect Maxime d’Angeac.
On the occasion of the exhibition that the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is dedicating to the centenary of Art Deco in its galleries, the Orient Express is invited to present, exclusively under the Nave, elements of the future train — the first projections of the direction initiated by Maxime d’Angeac. These elements will be echoed by previously unseen pieces of archival material from historic trains. This dialogue between the past, present and future is weaved throughout the entire visit.
2025: Upholding the Imperative of Excellence – to Reinvent Orient Express
The future Orient Express represents a major technical challenge. A complex moving object, sanctified through the beauty of rhythm and shaped by technological advances and inventions. It is still a marvel of engineering.
says Maxime d’Angeac. Under his artistic leadership, Orient Express has remained true to its heritage and reinvented the codes of luxury for today. Every element of the future train has been meticulously drawn in Indian ink with a 0.13 mm fine point— symbolic of a technical precision that does not deceive.
Every line is a tribute to the intelligence of the drawing, a meticulous dialogue between artisanal craftsmanship and the demands of railway operation (safety, weight, vibrations…). The design incorporates more modern principles such as energy efficiency, sustainability, high technology, and safety—without sacrificing elegance, comfort, or sensory richness.
Maxime d’Angeac and his teams are not merely reinterpreting the past—they are extending its spirit. Radical in its precision, complete in its conception, every space is the result of a finely orchestrated aesthetic composition performed by the finest craftsmen—more than thirty trades, from cabinetmakers to engineers. Orient Express’ uniqueness is due to this almost obsessive rigor. A myth is not rebuilt by simplifying—but by carrying the gesture through to its fullest expression.
In 1925 France demonstrated its excellence by presenting decorative ensembles that were created by the “grand ensembliers” of the time—those whose holistic vision sought to harmonize furniture, textiles, lighting, tableware, and interior design into a unified, immersive spatial experience—far beyond isolated furnishings. Among the iconic figures exhibited were Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, Jean Dunand, Pierre Chareau, René Prou… This vision extended to the new world of travel: the ocean liner Normandie and the Orient Express train of that era became its emblems.
These names still evoke collective imagination, as they represent entire worlds of sophistication for traveling the globe. Guided by the talents of Suzanne Lalique-Haviland and René Prou, masters of Art Deco applied to travel (notably for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique and its new generation of liners), and elevated by René Lalique, the train became a symbol of French taste—an ambassador in motion.
The rebirth of Orient Express will continue the legacy in 2025.
Achieving Ambitious Artistic Direction
Maxime d’Angeac, a passionate, erudite, and iconoclastic architect, embraces the scale—or even the excess—of the projects entrusted to him. He orchestrates the rebirth a myth as Artistic Director for Orient Express. Maxime d’Angeac cultivates an art of divergence. The timeless is preferred over the fleeting. Precision over showmanship. Maxime d’Angeac, certified architect (DPLG), was trained in scenography with Hilton McConnico. He has been promoting a stripped-down, light-driven architecture for over thirty years. At the head of his architecture firm MDA, he brings this vision to large-scale projects, always prioritizing ‘the plan, the light, the detail’ — those fundamentals he transforms into an invisible signature.
He is a connoisseur and collector of rare books and Italian Renaissance architecture. He is also devoted to reading and collecting rare books. With him, rigor is not austere—it is alive. His hand creates spaces where the light moves slowly.
In his practice of combat sports he finds the physical discipline to be a counterpart to his intellectual rigor. The duality of his architecture is a result of this: it’s precise, direct and devoid any decorative excess. What I value,
“He says” is creating frameworks for living – not only backdrops.
The Exhibition: An homage to craftsmanship across a century
The rebirth and revival of Orient Express will allow you to appreciate the enduring aesthetic spirit that characterized its beginnings, as well as the sincerity in the approach and the sense of rigor which has endured for over a hundred years.
A grand engineering project, Orient Express is also a complete work of art – a showcase for French craftsmanship. In the spirit of the great Art Deco ensembliers, Maxime d’Angeac brought together prestigious master artisans for the project: embroiderers, sculptors, watchmakers, metalworkers, glassmakers, cabinetmakers, lighting experts, engineers… All worked in respect to the strictest of industrial constriants. The project was meticulously planned. Every part has a purpose; every gesture has a meaning.
Rinck, Ateliers d’Offard, Jean-Brieuc Chevalier, Ateliers Jouffre, Paul Champs, Philippe Coudray, Atelier Chauvet, the Tapestry Manufacture of Burgundy, Atelier Moderne Pulsatil… are among the exceptional talents who brought their passion for craftsmanship to the rebirth of Orient Express. Here, luxury is not displayed—it is felt, revealed in both material and the precision of detail.
The 2025 exhibition invites reflection on the continuity of a certain phenomena – such as travel. The Orient Express project explores today’s meaning of travel: a chance to relearn the value of time, space, and silence. The journey is slow, contemplative, and masterful, in contrast to instantaneous travel. It reconnects to the philosophy of 1925, that of usefulness, grace, and the present moment. Orient Express does not recount the past—through the magic of its reinvention, the demanding vision of its artistic direction, and the talent of its teams surrounding it, it carries forward an enduring intuition.
As in 1925, Orient Express pays tribute to the hand, the eye, the mind—to everything that demands time. This train is more than a means of transport – it is a destination in itself. A world on the move.
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