In 50 years, he secretly photographed 50,000 girls, but he didn't enter the police station, he never fell in love in his life, and all women loved him!

ID:meituyxj

An 87-year-old man, with no wife and no children, has never even been in a relationship in his life. But for 50 years, he shuttled through the streets of New York and photographed a whole New York fashion chronicle.

From the history of fashion clothing to the history of the city, from the street corners of New York to the big and small show banquets, he is always happy to press the shutter, freeze the classic moments, and explore the beauty of ordinary people.

He has gray hair, a wrinkled face, wears a blue patched labor protection uniform all the year round, struggles to pedal on an old red bicycle, and looks like a sanitation worker.

If it weren't for the vintage Nikon camera he wore around his neck, maybe someone would have given him money. Who would have imagined that he would be the fashion industry tycoon, the world-renowned godfather of street photography, Bill Cunningham?

People are as light as chrysanthemums, but his life is legendary.

Born in 1929 in an ordinary family in Boston, he was sensitive to fashion in middle school and loved to buy rags to make hats.

At the age of 19, he was admitted to Harvard with excellent grades, but Harvard's old-fashioned school spirit and dull curriculum could not satisfy his desire for novelty, so he resolutely decided to drop out of this first-class university.

After dropping out of school, Bill had nothing to do, and his family offered him a job as an advertising man, but he was bent on making hats, so he simply left home, rented a small attic in New York, and started his own hat making business.

Bill's bold ideas and special hats were soon sought after by high-class ladies, including Marilyn Monroe and Hepburn.

But the good times didn't last long, and in 1951, when the post-war reconstruction was underway, Bill received a notice to enlist in the army just after his career took off. When he returned from the army in 1966, hats were no longer in fashion.

At this time, Bill was very sad, but fortunately one of his photographer friends gave him a Nikon camera worth $39. When you see the camera, you mistake it for life, and this shot is a lifetime.

As soon as Bill picked up the camera, he fell in love with the heavy bricks and tiles under the lens, the old roads of the old city that had been full of vicissitudes, and the fashionably dressed men and women on the streets.

So, for more than 50 years, he rode his old bicycle every day, roaming 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, rain or shine, and never lost a day.

In case of rainy days, if the plastic raincoat is torn, it is glued with tape, and if the sole is broken, it is taken to nail it to make up for it.

"Fashion is not expensive, and the best fashion is on the street!"

Rather than celebrities and faces, he prefers to focus on ordinary people, pay attention to the civilian mentality behind the costume and the changes of the whole society, and dig out the natural, unpretentious trend and beauty. If the dress is boring and featureless, even if it is the French movie star Catherine Deneuve, Bill is not interested and does not bother to press the shutter.

Bill's talent and unique vision of fashion have made him a respected veteran in the fashion industry. In 1978, the discerning New York Times opened a street photography column for Bill, "On the Street."

But what is unbelievable is that for many years Bill has been taking pictures for free, and when the magazine sent him a check, he was turned down.

"Street photography is a joy for me, not a paid job! And if I charge a fee, they can instruct me, and I won't be able to express myself freely. ”

Even the fashion witch Anna Wintour was willing to stay alone for Bill, and France awarded him a knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Many fashion celebrities have praised him, some say that he has a unique eye, and every time he shoots something, after six months, it will become a fashion trend.

Every time Bill is invited to a fashion show, Anna Wintour, the fashion witch, says, "We dress up for Bill." ”

It can be said that Bill is famous all over the world. He made a great contribution to street fashion, but he himself lived in poverty and left nothing for himself.

In his old age, he only got a 20-square-meter house. There are no tables, chairs and toilets, just a bed, and two tin cabinets where he has stored his photographs for more than 50 years.

Breakfast on the street for no more than three dollars a day, and even a cup of coffee was a luxury for him, but he was content with the status quo.

I shoot gorgeous clothes every day, but I always have a $20 labor protection suit, "This dress has many pockets and is easy to clean." And the camera is easy to wear out clothes, so there is no need to buy expensive clothes! ”

Every time he was invited to watch a show abroad, Bill stubbornly paid out of his own pocket, and others took a special car to live in a five-star hotel, but he took the bus to live in a small hotel.

"Money is the cheapest thing," he said, "and spirit and freedom are priceless." "Yes, he has lived a long life, but his heart is rich.

When asked about his family, he choked up for a while, "I don't have time, so I haven't been in love, I just feel regretful, but I don't regret it." ”

Even though he lived alone, he had a full and free soul. He kept his childish heart until he suffered a stroke at the age of 87 this year, and passed away silently in the hospital without anyone to see him die.

But he was not alone, because everyone loved him. New Yorkers named the corner of 57th Street and 5th Avenue after him in honor of him as a child.

In today's glitzy world, there are fewer and fewer pure people, Bill has spent his life interpreting freedom and dreams, if everyone lives according to their hearts, everyone has the potential to become their own legend.

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