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Bill Cunningham (American photographer)

Bill Cunningham
Bill Cunningham at Fashion Week photographed by Jiyang Chen.jpg
Cunningham at New York Fashion Week 2011
Born William John Cunningham Jr.
(1929-03-13)March 13, 1929
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died June 25, 2016(2016-06-25) (aged 87)
New York City, U.S.
Nationality American
Alma mater Harvard University
(dropped out)
Occupation Photographer
Employer The New York Times
Known for Fashion photography
Street photography

William John "Bill" Cunningham Jr. (March 13, 1929 – June 25, 2016) was an American fashion photographer for The New York Times, known for his candid and street photography. A Harvard University dropout, he first became known as a designer of women's hats before moving on to writing about fashion for Women's Wear Daily and the Chicago Tribune. He began taking candid photographs on the streets of New York City, and his work came to the attention of The New York Times with a 1978 capture of Greta Garbo in an unguarded moment. Cunningham reported for the paper from 1978 to 2016. Cunningham was hospitalized for a stroke in New York city in June 2016, and died soon after.

William John Cunningham Jr. was born into an Irish Catholic family and raised in Boston. He never lost his Boston accent. He had two sisters and an older brother. His parents were religious and used corporal punishment. He had his first exposure to the fashion world as a stockboy in Bonwit Teller's Boston Store. He later said his interest in fashion began in church: "I could never concentrate on Sunday church services because I'd be concentrating on women's hats." After attending Harvard University on scholarship for two months, he dropped out in 1948 and moved to New York City at the age of 19, where he worked again at Bonwit Teller, this time in the advertising department. Not long after, he quit his job and struck out on his own, making hats under the name "William J". He was drafted during the Korean War and was stationed in France, where he had his first exposure to French fashion. After serving a tour in the U.S. Army, he returned to New York in 1953 and his work as a milliner. In 1958, a New York Times critic wrote that he had "cornered the face-framing market with some of the most extraordinarily pretty cocktail hats ever imagined." He also worked for Chez Ninon, a couture salon that sold copies of designs by Chanel, Givenchy, and Dior. His clients in the 1950s included Marilyn Monroe, Katharine Hepburn, and future First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier. Encouraged by his clients, he started writing, first for Women's Wear Daily and then for the Chicago Tribune. He closed his hat shop in 1962. Following the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy sent Cunningham a red Balenciaga suit she had bought at Chez Ninon. He dyed it black and she wore it to the funeral.


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