BILL CUNNINGHAM: ON THE STREET

This official book of photographs houses the 50-year collection of the most iconic and beloved photographs taken by prolific fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, the king of street style.

The iconic Bill Cunningham was known for wearing a blue work jacket and for riding a bicycle around New York City as he captured cutting-edge street style (before street style was even a thing). He took pictures for the New York Times from 1978 until his death in 2016 and wrote the beloved columns On the Street and Evening Hours, which began in 1989. This book will be an oversize collection of Bill's hallowed photography - a mixture of published and unpublished - organized by decade with essays by and about Bill's muses and subjects, such Anna Wintour, Cathy Horyn, Vanessa Friedman, and Ruth La Ferla.

Instead of being organized chronologically, the photos from each decade are grouped loosely around trends rather than by specific years to emphasize the power of Bill's influence and transcendence of fashion. In the middle of his tenure, the Times moved to color photography (in 1997), which will provide a really nice "Wizard of Oz moment" in the book. This book is a complete overview of Bill's lifetime of work, giving readers the feeling that they are seeing through one of the most iconic fashion photographer's storied lens. Throughout the book, the reader will observe who makes regular appearances and who inspired him most and will begin to get a sense of who Bill was just by seeing what things always grabbed his eye.

Inspired by Bill's denim work jacket, the removable dust jacket of this massive tribute (9 3/4 x 11 1/4) will emulate his jacket. The organization of photographs by style rather than by timeline as well as the shift from bold black and white to vibrant color will make this project stand out among other iconic photography books in this category. Every fashion lover and fashionista will have to add this book to their collection.

Bill Cunningham was an American fashion icon and photographer for The New York Times from 1978 to 2016, known for his candid and street photography. Before capturing the Times's attention with a candid of Greta Garbo, Bill was a known designer of women's hats, then was a fashion writer for Women's Wear Daily and the Chicago Tribune.