Bill Cunningham, whose lens made New York City’s sidewalks into fashion runways, is dead at 87
Source: NY Times
Legendary New York fashion photographer Bill Cunningham died on Saturday (June 25) after a career that moved fashion’s focus from the runway to the life of the street, and transcended fashion to chronicle our times.
The rich and famous made appearances in his “On The Street” column for the New York Times’s Style section, but most of Cunningham’s favorite recurring subjects were nothing of the sort. He favored people who exhibited daring personal style, like Louise Doktor, an executive secretary in a New York holding company, and he shied away from the staged glamour of Hollywood’s red carpets.
Cunningham left his mark on fashion capitals around the world. The French government awarded him the Legion d’Honneur, and New York named him a Living Landmark, reports the New York Times. A New Yorker profile and documentary film, “Bill Cunningham New York,” followed his rising fame.
Like any good journalist, Cunningham sought to capture compelling moments, rather than be part of them himself, the New York Times reported in his obituary. He remained fiercely independent and committed to his craft throughout his life in spite of the acclaim. “Money’s the cheapest thing,” he once said. “Liberty and freedom is the most expensive.”
Read more: http://qz.com/717155/bill-cunningham-whose-lens-made-new-york-citys-sidewalks-into-fashion-runways-is-dead-at-87/
I'm not a fashion person but Bill Cunningham's absolute love for other people, total strangers usually, was inspiring. To get up every day and make other people feel good about themselves, to tell those of us who aren't size zero models that we too are beautiful, and to find something new every day to get excited about, are all noble endeavors. The love that Bill had for this life and NYC kept him very much alive and working at age 87.
Congrats on a life well lived !
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