The Orient Express — 100 Years of Art Déco

The Orient Express remains one of design’s purest dreams, a symbol of motion shaped by stillness, and of craftsmanship that turns function into ritual.
Its form speaks a language of geometry and reflection: deep lacquer, brass lines, polished glass, velvet and silence.

Each carriage becomes a room of memory, where the rhythm of travel meets the precision of proportion. Corridors extend like endless mirrors, dining rooms glow in soft symmetry, and light slides across surfaces as if tracing invisible routes between eras.

Here, architecture and movement coexist. Every surface, from patterned wall panels to sculpted chairs, reveals the persistence of a style that never aged, only evolved. The discipline of Art Déco endures not as nostalgia, but as structure: a dialogue between shadow and brilliance, between design and emotion.

The images linger in the threshold between time and material. They capture how craftsmanship holds memory, how a chair, a lamp, a window can embody the distance between Paris and Istanbul, between then and now.

The Orient Express continues to move, not across landscapes, but through the imagination,
a journey where elegance becomes geometry, and light becomes language.

Blue and gold exterior of the Orient Express with Paris–Wien inscription, captured at the Art Déco centenary in Paris by photographer Joseph Alexiadis.
Vintage Simplon–Orient–Express poster depicting Athens and the Acropolis, representing the original route from Paris to Constantinople.
Interior of the Orient Express bar carriage, featuring green velvet seating, golden light, and geometric detailing.
Vintage Orient Express dining cabin with marquetry panels, silver teaware, and upholstered chairs in soft brown tones.
Modern Orient Express dining car interior with golden geometric wall panels, brass lamps, and elegantly set tables.
Illuminated corridor inside the Orient Express with curved ceiling lights and mirrored reflections.
Side view of the Orient Express train exterior featuring gold lettering and warm interior reflections, photographed in Paris.
Orient Express cabin interior featuring velvet upholstery, round mirror, and Art Déco lighting in warm amber tones.
Exhibition display featuring geometric wall panels, a sculptural chair, and modern fabric inspired by the Orient Express design language.
Close-up of a modern Orient Express dining table set for four, surrounded by golden geometric wall panels.
Blue and gold Orient Express carriage marked “Istanbul,” with warm reflections through its windows, photographed by Joseph Alexiadis during the Art Déco centenary in Paris.