Skip to main content

Bill Cunningham, New York Times fashion photographer, dies at 87



  • section
Bill Cunningham at work during a Ralph Lauren Spring showImage copyright
Image captionCunningham was best known for his work in the New York Times
Veteran fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, who made his name chronicling trends on the streets of New York, has died aged 87.
Cunningham spent almost 40 years working for the New York Times, which confirmed his death and called him an "unlikely cultural anthropologist".
His spreads were a staple of the style section.
"We will remember the vivid, vivacious New York he captured in his photos," said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Arriving in New York aged 19, Cunningham first worked as a hat maker before becoming a fashion writer and then moving into photography.
Wearing his trademark blue jacket and travelling on a bicycle, he was credited as having a unique eye for emerging fashion, whether on the streets or at industry events.
But despite his connection to the fashion elite, he lived modestly. In its obituary, the NYT said he ate his breakfast of coffee and sausage, egg and cheese almost every day at the same deli for years.
Bill Cunningham riding a bicycle on the streets of New YorkImage copyright
Image captionHe has been declared a Living Landmark by the New York Landmarks Conservancy
Bill Cunningham photographs at a fashion event in New York in 2016Image copyright
Image captionWhile revered in the fashion world he chose to live humbly
Asked why he kept tearing up cheques he received, Cunningham said: "Money's the cheapest thing. Liberty and freedom is the most expensive."
The French government awarded him a Legion d'Honneur for his work, while he was named a Living Landmark by the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
Cunningham had recently suffered a stroke.
"His company was sought after by the fashion world's rich and powerful, yet he remained one of the kindest, most gentle and humble people I have ever met," said NYT Chairman Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr.
"We have lost a legend, and I am personally heartbroken to have lost a friend."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Who Is Zuleyka Rivera? 5 Things To Know About The ‘Despacito’ Actress

With ‘Despacito’ up for Record of the Year at the 2018 Grammy Awards, here’s everything you need to know about the music video’s actress — Zuleyka Rivera! 1. She’s a renowned beauty queen.  Not only did she claim the Miss Universe Puerto Rico title, Zuleyka eventually took the top prize and was later crowned Miss Universe in 2006. 2. After her huge Miss Universe win, she studied acting and eventually became a TV star.  She now lives in Miami where she’s frequently a special guest or a host on shows like  Un Nuevo Dia  on Telemundo and  Despierta America  on Univision. Before that, she became a breakout star by appearing on several Televisa soap operas in Mexico. 3. In addition to modeling, she also owns her own clothing line.  On top of running her own teen-ware clothing collection, she also has three fragrance lines called the Karisma, Zuleyka and Zuleyka 2010. If that wasn’t impressive enough, she also started an amazing swims...

Frank Ocean new album: How to listen and stream Boys Don’t Cry when it drops

After two missed release dates a year apart and a confusing decoy of a “live stream” video, Frank Ocean is set to finally release his second album,  Boys Don’t Cry , on Friday 5 August. It will be launched through an exclusive deal with Apple Music, according to the  New York Times , who cite a ‘person with knowledge of the release plans’. If indeed this is the case (and it would make sense, that live stream has an Apple watermark), it means you’ll need to sign up for Apple Music to listen to the  Channel Orange  follow-up, which costs £9.99 a month (£4.99 for students through Apple’s UNiDAYS promotion). You might want to turn off auto-renewal off though (Apple Music app > profile icon > View Apple ID. > Subscriptions > Manage > switch Auto-Renewal off), if you’re the kind of person who, like me, is liable to forget that you’ve signed up for the service indefinitely. Beyond Apple Music...

Why My Chemical Romance's 'The Black Parade' Was The 'Sgt Pepper' Of The Emo Generation

Secret (or not so secret) noughties emos rejoice! Grab some black hair dye and vow to disown your parents all over again! Because  My Chemical Romance  look  set to reissue an expanded version of 'The Black Parade' , their third and most successful album, for its 10 year anniversary (yes, you really are  that  old).  The news last night, stoked by a  mysterious video  teased on the band's long-dormant Twitter page, was enough to rev some sections of the internet into a frenzy. But what's all the fuss about? Well, the album in question wasn't just the band's best, nor just most succinct album of its genre, it was one of the most important records of the last decade.  An  "ostentatious concept-album-cum-rock-opera about death" , as we described it upon its release, the record is a bombastic tour-de-force that took cues from Green Day's 'American Idiot' (both albums were recorded with the same producer) but sounded nothing like its...