Bill Cunningham was an American fashion photographer who worked for The New York times. He began his amazing career by taking many candid photographs on the streets of New York city capturing not just the outfits the people wore but the world around them as well. I love how he attended and photographed all of the exclusive fashion shows but also captured raw, natural images on the streets of everyday people going about their daily lives. It was like a fashion show on the streets, the streets spoke to him. He wasn't interested in the person he was photographing, he only cared about the garments and details. This is so different from all of the other photographers around who almost mocked Bill for not taking photos of the celebrities and selling them off for money.
When photographing at fashion shows, he sat on the sides to capture the details and movement in the clothing, this also differs so much to the other photographers there who all stand in front ready to capture a perfect full body photograph showing the whole outfit. Bills unique look on fashion and photography is what made him so great.
On the film we watched, we saw his home filled with filing cabinets filled with all of his beloved photographs, he kept every single negative of every single one. Street style and fashion photography was his life, he literally lived and breathed it and he did what he wanted 'If you don't take money, they can't tell you what to do'. You could tell he absolutely loved what he did 'It's not work, It's pleasure', after watching the film and researching more into him I don't think he stopped smiling once, even when he didn't get the best response from people he photographed, he just laughed it off and carried on.
He was definitely an easy one to spot, riding around on his bike in his bright blue blazer, he had his own unique style, simple and basic yet so down to earth.
In the documentary I watched, Anna Wintour said 'we all get dressed for Bill', to me this just showed his importance in the fashion industry, he is so well respected and admired. As he was told to queue outside along with the paparazzi at a fashion show I also noticed a man say 'please, he's the most important on earth'.
Bill Cunningham
1929-2016
Thankyou for reading,
Love from Georgia
xxx
Photo credit: uk.complex.com
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