Recently, the newest Met Gala theme was announced to be in memory of Karl Lagerfeld, a highly beloved fashion designer who is well known for creating the look of modern Chanel. As much as I do love this theme choice, I couldn’t help but make comparisons to another fashion figure who passed in recent times. The man that single-handedly shaped my love for fashion and New York City: Bill Cunningham. Even though both men worked in fashion, Bill approached it in a way that I wish many more people would celebrate, the same way they celebrate Lagerfeld.
Unlike Lagerfeld who influenced the fashion industry directly with his work, Cunningham chose to observe and appreciate the fashion world instead, spending nearly five decades taking pictures of New York and its eccentric outfits. Growing up in 1950s Boston with a religious family, Bill’s early life experiences were similar to many queer people of that era. His love for fashion and clothes caused him to be shunned by his family, peers, and most of all, his religion. Humorously, he wrote in his memoir that he always bought the most beautiful clothes for his sisters and mother, only for them to ask him to return the garments. Not that he cared much, because just seeing the beautiful clothing was enough for him.
As soon as he turned 18, he was offered the opportunity to move to New York City to live with relatives and work at a luxury department store. “I was going to be in the most glamorous place in the world,” he explained. “I was beyond ecstatic.” Little did he know, the original short trip would turn into a permanent residence, as he created his own hat shop in New York. Though money was extremely tight then (who knew that New York rent was always its own beast?), Cunningham would refer to this period as the happiest time of his life. He was finally surrounded by all the sparkling fabrics and ingenuity that he had ever wanted—even if it was at the expense of lunch…and dinner.
Many more things happened after his little shop opened. For one, Bill would have to acknowledge that suits and casual skirts were now coming into fashion, shoving his extravagant hats and masks out of fashion. In seemingly “good” timing, his uncle who had invited him to stay in New York when he was 18 requested Bill to join the U.S. military alongside him. In Cunningham fashion, Bill took the position happily, excited that he would get to see the pencil skirts and Dior bags of France. For the two years during which he served, he would sew looks out of uniforms, lead sightseeing trips into the city, and make flower crowns for their helmets. Not soon after he returned from the war, he began to photograph, and he never stopped until his passing.
Bill’s influence in fashion, though subtle, is certainly significant. He has pushed many fashion figures to front pages, including Anna Wintour, who he’s known ever since she stepped foot in New York. He’s influenced everyone with his infectious passion for fashion, spreading his work to nearly every corner of the world. But most of all, he celebrates fashion in its purest form. Fashion in Cunningham terms was never determined by an item’s price, or how the outfit made someone's body look— it is how you love what you wear that makes a difference. How you dare to keep innovating and continue looking for new things. As Bill Cunningham says in his book, Fashion Climbing: “Constant change is the breath of fashion.”
Though he passed on in 2016 after reaching nearly 90 years old, Bill was always open to every new thing and every new trend. Even in his later years, his love for fashion only became more intense. No matter if he was a little boy sneaking peeks at the sparkling ball gowns of department stores, a young American soldier watching Parisians walk by on his off day, or a jolly old man cruising around Manhattan with nothing but a camera and a bicycle, he was always passionate for the same thing.
For me, Bill Cunningham is a constant reminder of just how much there is to see in the world, and just how excited I am to see it. To be able to spend every moment of life with my eyes open is a blessing, a joy, and certainly one hell of a ride. Even when life gets tough. Even when nothing seems in need of my attention. As Bill reminds all of us: “he who seeks beauty will find it.”
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