Totally cliche. I know. But really, there is a reason why everybody constantly photographs Times Square. Why tourists visit, why businesses pay scary amounts of rent, why everything seems to merge and branch from it: because you can get away with anything.
It doesn't matter how crazy or bizarre or uncalled for (there is certainly plenty of all the above). You will find the strangest and most diverse of people, be they from a distant country or just promoting a Broadway show. You will find the most out-of-control stores with intense decor and intenser prices. You will find seizure-inducing lights and advertisements bigger than a typical house. You can hear the voices and see the glow of Times
Square at all hours of the day.For some reason, this insanity is considered acceptable here. I'm not quite sure why, but this insanity has a certain appeal. Yes, I would like to walk into a chocolate-scented Hershey's store, or a Disney shop with a life-size princess castle in it. It's almost like a fantasy or a twisted dream.
People often associate the entire city of New York with Times Square, which rather bothers me, despite how much I enjoy the area. Not at of New York is that tacky, flashy, commercial, and tourist-filled. It's kind of like the frosting on a cupcake from Crumbs (located on Broadway just south of Times Square), giving a fantastic and attention-grabbing finish to a rich, complex cake beneath it.
The craziness that Times Square gets away with is something all designers wish they could get away with. If we did design whatever we wanted, however, we wouldn't sell very much. Times Square serves as a reminder to me when I am designing that I can envision and pen my most whimsical ideas so as not to forget them; but that I also need to consider the core of my collection, the cake of my cupcake, the real city of my New York.
