Bill Cunningham is everything that’s right about fashion. He’s a street photographer. A real street photographer. He doesn’t hang out outside fashion shows and shoot models when they come outside to smoke. He dons his anorak, jumps on his bike and rides it all over New York City, taking pictures of what he notices. He isn’t trying to shape trends, he’s just trying to capture the flavor of what’s On the Street. He isn’t interested in predicting trends or capturing the marketplace. He just returns humane photographs of real people in interesting outfits.
I tried my damndest to interview Cunningham for Season One of PTO, and was rebuffed by the Times’ publicity department, but I still hold out hope for the future. In the meantime, I’m excited about this feature documentary.
If you haven’t read this wonderful first-person piece from 2002, it’s a must-read. So is this New Yorker profile from 2009. What a graceful man.