The Sartorialist is great. A huge profile and an undeniable eye for good fashion. But don’t be mistaken, he didn’t come up with that instantaneous, people on the street, natural fashion shooting thing all by himself.

The original sartorialist is a man by the name of Bill Cunningham. He’s been shooting for the New York Times since before your parents were born and his eye for fashion is second to none. He’s an unusual character, having lived by himself all his life, riding the same bicycle through the streets and denouncing any sense of fashion himself, wearing the same utilitarian jacket everyday.  If it rains, he grabs a disposable $2 poncho and tapes it up to get multiple uses out of it. And most famously he’ll refuse to raise his camera at runway shows, offering a silent but scathing denial of his belief in some of the world’s biggest fashion names.

Somehow, filmmaker Richard Press convinced Cunningham to allow him access into his life to discover what makes this life long recluse tick. He’s also interviewed the biggest names in Manhattan fashion to get the inside story on the man that gave little to nothing away about his life. Anna Wintour, Brooke Astor and David Rockefeller all go on record to reveal the mystery behind Cunningham.

Gaining awards at a host of this year’s festivals, this is an amazing doco if you’ve got any interest in fashion or photography. But it’s an inspirational story about a guy who does amazing things in the most humble of ways. An amazing life that we’re all the better for having documented for all of us to see.

Bill Cunningham New York
Now Showing at Cinema Nova

Details: Cinema Nova