Bill Cunningham New York

Year: 2010
Country: USA
Run Time: 84 minutes

Who's that peculiar fellow in a bright blue jacket, pedaling his bike through the streets of New York with cameras dangling around his neck? Make way for Bill Cunningham, the 82-year-old photographer who's been capturing the fashion pulse of the streets since 1978 for The New York Times. A fixture at high society charity soirées, Bill is spectacularly unassuming despite his access to crowned heads of style, including Tom Wolfe, Annette de la Renta, and the Astors. Until recently he lived in a tiny apartment above Carnegie Hall crammed with file cabinets. Bill eats in modest cafés, even when he's in Paris covering the fashion shows or receiving his Chevalier award from the government of France. He refuses to accept any food or drink from party-givers, for fear of compromising his impartiality. He's a cultural anthropologist, not a fashionista, and he doesn't give a hoot if you're wealthy or famous, or sporting something you dug out of the trash bin. If it's interesting, he'll take a picture of you. If not, he's pedaling off again. "We all get dressed for Bill," says Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue. Because of BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK we can understand why. – B.B.

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