There’s no doubt that New York Fashion Week always brings out a circus sideshow, with packs of fashionistas stomping the city grounds in their most outrageous and highly curated outfits. But the person most people look forward to seeing at the shows is none other than legendary New York Times photographer, Bill Cunningham, the Huffington Post claims.
Born in Boston in 1929, Cunningham is known for being a pioneer of candid, street style photography. After starting his journalism career with a brief stint at Women’s Wear Daily, he later joined the Chicago Tribune, where he made the camera his notebook.
The world beyond New York’s fashion and art circles was introduced to Cunningham in 2008 when New York Times‘s Philip Gefter produced the Richard Press-directed documentary feature Bill Cunningham New York, profiling the photographer in all his idiosyncrasies, revealing his extremely humble lifestyle and his passion for fashion. (At a recent talk at the 92nd Street Y, Cunningham admitted he has yet to watch the film.)
Just this past March, the New York Historical Society held an exhibition that highlighted an eight year project Cunningham started in 1968 titled Facades (see “In Bill Cunningham’s Photos, New York Wears Its Landmarks on Its Sleeve“). He captured models, most notably his friend and fellow photographer Editta Sherman, posing in front of Manhattan landmarks wearing garbs from the periods in which the buildings were erected.
An endearing figure in the cut-throat fashion world, Cunningham was named to France’s L’Ordre National des Arts et des Lettres in 2008 for his significant contribution to the arts and the industry—an honor he received wearing his trademark blue coat . Judging from the wide array of social media snaps surfacing this Fashion Week, Cunningham has become a cultural celebrity and one of the most popular fixtures on or off the runway.