Fashion Trend

NYC has been the leader in interior design trends for many decades, so architects and designers all over the world notice what is popular in Uptown, midtown, and downtown New York. When it comes to floor treatments, polished concrete has become a top choice all over NYC. It is both beautiful and durable so it’s no wonder that it is everywhere in the Big Apple. Many New Yorkers however, may be surprised that the sophisticated stone floors in the most stylish shops on Madison Avenue and some of the legendary lobbies of Broadway theaters are actually polished concrete.

New technological improvements and decorative innovations have turned the old cement floor into a high end design choice that many businesses prefer to stone, wood, or tile. Since polished concrete can take on the look of expensive materials like granite, marble, or slate but is less expensive and more durable, it gives NYC businesses the financial advantage they need in these demanding times.

Every business in New York has to stand out if it’s going to get noticed. Real estate is expensive, so small spaces need to produce big results and since NYC is a walking city, floors get heavy and constant use. A trendy loft studio in Soho needs to maintain a cutting edge style, but it also has to continuously look good and be easy to maintain. The atrium and hallways of world leading financial institutions need to project an air of dignity and distinction during the sweltering New York summers as well as the snowy and slushy winters. When the doorman opens the ornate doors of a NYC hotel or high rise, the floor that is revealed must be magnificent both early morning and late at night for the city that never sleeps.

Polished concrete is so versatile, it works in all sorts of buildings all over NYC, and just like the great actors that perform on Broadway, it can take on many roles. If the floor is new or the existing cement slab is in good condition, stain can be added and the surface is polished with specialized machinery. These stains come in a wide range of colors so almost any color scheme can be matched.
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As for Chinese fashion elements, they have been largely attached to the modern fashion clothing, such as Chinese coloring, Chinese painting and printing, embroidery technique, blue and white porcelain, paper cutting style, etc. More and more world-class fashion designers start to apply Chinese traditional elements to the modern fashion designs. In 2011, clothes with Chinese style will inevitably become a very important fashion element.

Today, whether in Paris, Milan or New York, clothes designed with Chinese style are greatly loved by people, particularly those fashion designers, international celebrities and super stars. During the 57th Cannes Film Festival in 2004, Gong Li, a Chinese superstar, wore the white Cheongsam that was designed by Tom Ford. Particularly, the back adopts Chinese embroidery technique that reveals a kind of magnificent Chinese characteristics. Designer Tom Ford made Gong Li embody both oriental women’s taste and western women’s elegance at that film festival. Besides, Fan Bingbing wearing blue and white porcelain, Gao Yuanyuan wearing Peking embroidery dress, Zhang Jingchu wearing Dunhuang fresco dress.

In 2011, with the launch of the China Promotional Video in Times Square in New York City, many of Chinese beauty wearing dresses with Chinese style will certainly push Chinese fashion elements into the world.
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