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Travel and hospitality

Accor, Orient Express announce new exhibition at Musée des Arts Décoratifs

June 30, 2025

French Architect Maxime d’Angeac, who also acts as artistic director at Orient Express, will debut drawings of the company’s future train at the exhibition. Image credit: Accor French Architect Maxime d’Angeac, who also acts as artistic director at Orient Express, will debut drawings of the company’s future train at the exhibition. Image credit: Accor

 

French hotel giant Accor is celebrating the centenary of the Art Deco movement through a partnership with international hotel, river cruise and rail company Orient Express and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

The “1925–2025: A Century of Art Deco” exhibition opens on Oct. 21 and runs until Feb. 22, 2026, in Paris, where Orient Express will debut details and sketches about its future train under the museum’s Nave. The company’s future train is the first project enacted by French architect Maxime d’Angeac, who now provides artistic direction to the brand.

“The future Orient Express is, first and foremost, a technical challenge,” said Mr. d’Angeac, creative director of Orient Express, in a statement.

“A moving object, complex, sanctified by the beauty of rhythm, shaped by technological revolutions and the history of inventions,” Mr. d’Angeac said. “Even today, it remains the result of a feat of engineering.”

Full steam ahead
The upcoming exhibit revisits the legacy of the original 1925 exhibition, when France established itself as a leader in the field of design, and the world saw advancements in the realm of travel courtesy of the ocean liner Normandie and the Orient Express train.

With Indian ink and a fine-point pen, Mr. d’Angeac, a proponent of “stripped-down architecture,” has drawn every element of the future train. Alongside the train drawings, the exhibition will showcase rare archival materials.

The staple in luxury travel is exploring its identity through a new presentation in honor of its 140-year birthday. Image credit: Accor Orient Express was founded in 1883. Image credit: Accor

For its interiors, Mr. d’Angeac turned to artisanal experts such as French upholstery company Ateliers Jouffre, French millwork, cabinet making and interior design company Rinck and French wallpaper company Ateliers d’Offard.

The train incorporates sustainable materials, advanced technology and rigorous safety requirements while maintaining the immersive qualities that once defined luxury travel.

In April, the Orient Express expanded its hospitality offerings with its first hotel in Rome (see story).