Bill Cunningham is a man of integrity. Despite being a legendary photographer in the fashion world, he lives in a tiny, rent-controlled apartment in Carnegie Hall. His room is filled with file cabinets with decades of negatives and a bed. The bathroom is in the hall. For much of his work, he refused to take money, because he didn't want anyone to own him or his work. He won't even take a free glass of water at the events he covers. His work is his life and he won't compromise that.
During the film, Cunningham celebrates his 80th birthday. He has been taking pictures of New Yorkers and what they wear for decades. The film features a who's whos list of editors from the top fashion magazines who follow is work because he has a keen eye for catching trends that are growing out of the streets. In covering fashion shows, he has a keen eye for when a designer is copying something done before and has no qualms pointing it out. He loves fashion, which he describes as our armor to go out into the world.
Ironically, he does not dress to impress. Though he is an icon in haute couture circles, he owns few clothes. His signature item is a cheap blue smock that the trash men in Paris wear. It has enough pockets for his film and is cheap enough that he doesn't feel bad when his camera wears out the front. When he first moved into Carnegie Hall's artists' apartments, he was a fledgling hat designer. He now seems embarrassed by his work. Maybe he was too practical or introverted to be the one on the other side of the camera.
When the fashion luminaries are asked about his personal life, they know little. One believes he must have come from money because no one else would live like he does. But in actuality he came from a modest background. He was lucky enough to create a job out of the thing he loves most in the world and has cleared all other distractions from his life. His family didn't like him going into fashion, because it wasn't manly enough. When asked if he's ever had a romantic relationship, he replies, "Are you asking if I'm gay?' It's what his family feared. He's elusive about answering, but he does admit that he hasn't ever had a relationship, because he is married to his art.
His uncompromised stance on his art has allowed him to retain a great deal of control over the years. His spreads have his influence over every aspect. As seen in one sequence, it must be a frustrating job working as a layout artist with this perfectionist. Conversely, for Cunningham, it's frustrating to create art about fashion when he's working with a layout artist who he calls a lumberjack. He spends almost every day pedaling around New York City looking for uniquely dressed people. He is fearless in his pursuit, even stopping in traffic to get a shot. One thing he is not interested in is celebrity. He doesn't care who the person is, only whether they are wearing something interesting. Once for Women's Wear Daily he did a spread that compared average people wearing high fashion on the street to models that wore the same outfit on the runway. He was devastated when the editors changed his copy to make fun of the average people. That ended his long working relationship with the magazine.
He is a joyous man. You don't have to like fashion or photography or New York culture to be inspired by Cunningham. To find something you love so much that you dedicate every day to it into your 80s is marvelous. Even when life throws him curve balls like getting evicted from his home because Carnegie Hall wants to put in more office space filled with telemarketers, he brushes it off easily. He is too happy and content to worry about that sort of thing. There is another picture waiting for him to take to worry about.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
