The director Wes Anderson has described train travel as an “endangered species … which is nevertheless very suited to our time.” What Anderson is referring to is a current longing for the analog and offline, for experiences that keep us grounded in the present and move at a slower pace. He should know. His 2007 film, The Darjeeling Limited, was memorably set on a luxury train traveling across the Indian countryside, stoking imaginations for years to come. This is what led the hospitality company Belmond to approach him a few years ago to reinvent Cygnus, a 1950s-era carriage for the company’s British Pullman train, which travels through England. It’s as elaborate and vivid as his film sets: walls of glossy marquetry work depicting clouds and waves, seats upholstered with custom…
You're reading a preview of
Harper's Bazaar (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2024