Bill Cunningham: Not an Ordinary Fashion Photographer

Victoria O
Mar 27, 2015
2 min read

I was introduced to the work of Bill Cunningham through a documentary a couple of years ago. What lingered with me was his ability to find and photograph fashionable men and women on the street. He observed themes, colours and patterns in everyday life.

For those who are unfamiliar, Bill Cunningham is an 85-year-old street-fashion photographer. He is probably the most enthusiastic and hard-working person you will see on the streets of Manhattan. In the documentary that I viewed, he says that “the fashion show is definitely on the street, it always has been and it always will be.” You can see his big smile as he’s snapping pictures of people with interesting outfits and the excitement that remains with him afterwards. He is known to take pictures of ordinary people with unique outfits rather than taking pictures of celebrities. It is not because he doesn’t recognize social hierarchy but he treats everyone who he believes to be fashionable in the same way.

Young Bill Cunningham

Bill is currently with the New York Times and has his own online column entitled “On the Street” featuring short videos that show a collage of his fashion photographs. His cheerful voice can be heard in the background describing whatever current trend he noticed on the streets. His video journals from “On the Street” reflect his creative mind by making interesting connections between everyday objects and what people are wearing. For example, his recent work “The Teddy Bear Coat” shows his fresh perspective on the beige coat. He was inspired by the texture and colour of Teddy bears on display and photographed people who were dressed in a similar colour.

My personal favourite is a series of photographs entitled “Stripes of all Sizes”. He is inspired by the stripes in the road and juxtaposes those in fashion.

Bill Cunningham has a unique point of view that captures what the ordinary person might miss. Rather than focusing on current trends in style, he photographs the next trendsetters. By taking fashion from the runway to the street turns everyday style into art.