Bill Cunningham, The New York Times famed streetstyle photographer and style anthropologist, is elusive. Outside of his documentary, I don’t know him, but I do know – he is not comfortable with his celebrity. He simply wants to shoot the style savvy and if someone engages him during Fashion Week, they are preventing him from doing his job. I witnessed a woman trying to strike a conversation and with his eyes locked on the crowd, he simply said, “I’m thinking.” He snapped a photo of a friend of mine outside of Fashion Week and tried to pass himself off as a tourist. The friend, well aware of Bill’s weekly Sunday Styles feature “On the Street,” handed him a card to ask when his photo might run. Bill looked at the card, thanked him and handed it back. Catch my SHORT VIDEO of Bill on the prowl below.
Please come around for MORE VIDEOS of Fashion Week’s curiosities over the next couple weeks. I’ll get back to showing you videos of the printed patterns I mentioned at Milk Studios, but want to circulate different shows for a bit. Next up is a fashion fave – Anya Ziourova! [RSS | Twitter | Facebook ]
[ Bill Cunningham searching for fashion trends outside Ralph Lauren's fashion show]
See, it’s true. Bill avoids the camera, but who can blame him. So much style to shoot, so little time. Each one of us shooters has our own techniques and it’s fun when I get a glimpse of him doing his thing. The other photos were taken outside Derek Lam’s Fashion Show.
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I love that you shot this elusive creature in action (and I love his blue jacket). Perhaps someday we will spot you in the wild doing your thing too.
Hi Janet, the funny thing is I’m blurry in the background of many shots, but have still managed to be elusive. Heh heh.