be it classes or my internship or going out with friends. Because every station is so similar and so ingrained into my routine, I barely notice my surroundings as I sit on the nearest bench and wait for the Downtown 1 train. However, today I decide to inspect my environment a little more carefully.Subways, also so seemingly simple, are incredibly designed. Not only are they engineered to
transport hundreds of thousands of people every day, they are also aesthetically considered down to every last tile. Today I stared at the geometric patterns on the terminal floor that formed zig zags. They merged into the canary yellow dotted strips alongside the tracks, marking the area as a dangerous place to stand when trains were coming in. Inside the silver train cars are carefully-placed steel poles to hold onto, accompanying the desaturated blue-violet seats. The color of the seats particularly gets me; they are such a beautiful, calming shade, one that would certainly look beautiful on a gown.
Then there are the more blatant designs. In every subway stop, there are mosaic tile designs that characterize the stop. My favorite is the beautiful and intricate ceramic tiles at the Museum of Natural History.
I love both the subtle and sleek color choices as well as the more fine arts-like mosaic work of subway stops. These characteristics in combination remind me of sportswear shown this past September by Alexander Wang and Rag & Bone.
