I wore Candy Crush dress on NYC subway floor: ‘What’s she doing?’

No seat? No sweat.

Fashion designer Christian Cowan — famed for larger-than-life looks worn by celebs like pop icon Kylie Minogue, rapper Ice Spice and rumored beau Sam Smith — has launched a collab with the ubiquitous mobile game Candy Crush Saga.

Allow The Post to introduce you to “The Sweet Seat” — a beanbag-like dress inspired by the dreaded task of claiming a seat on public transportation during rush hour.

“It’s this idea that you’re going on your commute and you can’t find your seat — and luckily your outfit doubles up as that,” Cowan, 28, told The Post.

After years of chaotic commuting, he knew it was time to eliminate the most challenging part of the journey: “As a student, I’d always be on the tube in London and there would never be seats. And I would just sit down on the floor in the middle.”

So, this reporter decided to spend a day strutting her stuff in the Sweet Seat on the streets of NYC. Needless to say, the public reactions to the look were as colorful as the commuter game that inspired it.


Christian Cowan latest collaboration with Candy Crush Saga
New York Post reporter Taylor Knight wore Christian Cowan’s Candy Crush Saga: Sweet Seat, a beanbag-like dress that allows you to claim a seat even in the most crowded rush hour.
Tamara Beckwith

Christian Cowan latest collaboration with Candy Crush Saga
Cowan was inspired to create the fashion statement to eliminate the difficulty finding a seat during rush hour.
Courtesy of Christian Cowan x Candy Crush

I slithered into the surprisingly lightweight dress and zipped it up, adding a few accessories — white thigh-high boots, white sunglasses and a pink purse — to make the look my own.

The rainbow color concoction — which sells for $1,000 — did not go unnoticed in Midtown.

“Whoa, it’s a beanbag,” one sharp-eyed bystander realized. “That’s f – – king huge.”

Others, however, were outright fans of the look: “I love the fabric. Can we touch it?” gushed one fashion fan, who was amazed at how soft the garment felt.

Another declared, “You look beautiful, whatever that is, it’s awesome,” before asking, “Who is the designer?”

“Can we get a photo with you?” more than one wide-eyed New Yorker asked.


Christian Cowan latest collaboration with Candy Crush Saga
New Yorkers were amazed by the colorful beanbag dress made out of Lycra.
Tamara Beckwith

Candy Crush has maintained its position as the sixth highest-grossing mobile game. Around 273 million users play Candy Crush once a month.
Around 273 million users play Candy Crush at least once a month, according to the digital watchdogs at Priori Data.
Shutterstock

Christian Cowan latest collaboration with Candy Crush Saga
The one-size-fits-all dress cost $1,000 on Cowan’s official website.
Tamara Beckwith

Christian Cowan latest collaboration with Candy Crush Saga
Taylor Knight poses on two chairs while wearing the Candy Crush dress.
Tamara Beckwith

“It’s very Candy Crush. It’s just whimsical, fun, over-the-top and unserious in all the best of ways,” Cowan told The Post, adding that working with the candy game series was “like the dream project because I like to have fun with fashion.”

New Yorkers instantly recognized the 2012 game application, blurting out, “OMG, it looks like a life-size Candy Crush,” or “I used to play that game all the time.”

Meanwhile, others fixated on the shape of the dress, observing, “It definitely looks like a Hershey kiss. You just need the silver wrapping,” or asking, “Is that a Hershey kiss?”


Taylor Knight, descending into the belly of NYC’s mass transit system.
Tamara Beckwith

Christian Cowan latest collaboration with Candy Crush Saga
Cowan admitted that he played Candy Crush all the time on the tube in London.
Courtesy of Christian Cowan x Candy Crush

Cowan wanted the dress’s shape and look to incorporate all of his “favorite candies,” especially striped ones. The UK designer also used the late avant-garde trendsetter Leigh Bowery, “an iconic kind of queer club kid,” as inspiration for the dress.

“Something that’s been so key to my brand has been these cool collaborations that look into different areas of pop culture that you would expect us to step into,” the designer said.

The Sweet Seat had some people watchers wanting to indulge in their sweet tooth, as one bystander indicated: “You make me want to eat some candy in that dress?”

However, shaded the statement dress: “It’s cute. I wouldn’t wear it. It looks better on you,” admitted a Bryant Park security guard.

An Italian tourist added, “The dress looks good on you — but we can’t wear that in my country.”


Christian Cowan latest collaboration with Candy Crush Saga
Cowan wanted the dress to have an eye candy shape, which incorporated all of his “favorite candies.”
Tamara Beckwith

The “Sweet Seat,” which is a limited edition, is one-size-fits-all, made out of Lycra and “stuffed with a material that actually dissolves when using a vinegar and water mixture — making it sustainable.”

Cowan told The Post his Candy Crush is a pop culture moment, especially when commuting on public transportation. He also revealed it’s the only game on his phone.

I took the beanbag dress underground to experience Candy Crush commuting myself, which came with plenty of glaring eyes and queries like, “Where is this woman going to sit?” and “What is she doing?”

Luckily enough for other passengers, I didn’t need an actual subway seat. Instead, I got comfortable on the floor and played Candy Crush until I got off the downtown M train.


Christian Cowan latest collaboration with Candy Crush Saga
The dress is meant for sitting on the train floor when there are no seats available.
Tamara Beckwith

Christian Cowan latest collaboration with Candy Crush Saga
The dress did have some trouble getting through subway turnstiles.
Tamara Beckwith

My biggest obstacle was getting through the subway turnstiles, which I got stuck in at one point. A friendly commuter had to help push me through.

Cowan admits the outfit is “really just like unashamedly fun and humorous.”

“We should always dress to have fun. We should always dress to enlighten our day, make us feel happier,” he told The Post.

“So I just hope people take that away in their personal style and just have more fun with things. Don’t worry so much.”