Bill Cunningham New York

Forget The Satorialist, Face Hunter. Tommy Ton and Garance Dore - 80 year old Bill Cunningham aka The Bill is the original street style photographer. Since he has been shooting fashionistas from the late 70s he has earned the respect of the heavy hitters in New York. Bill started his career as a writer on The Chicago Tribune and began taking pictures of well dressed people on the streets of New York. He got his big break when he took a chance picture of Greta Garbo which was published in The Times in 1978 and went on to become a regular series. This was a huge first because usually images of famous people needed permission before they could be run. Since then Bill  has gone on to take countless photographs of celebrities, socialites and fashion personalties in Manhattan, in a career that has amassed around 40 to 50 years. He has entertained the public with his columns in The Times Style section, One the Street and Evening Hours. Some say that he has the history of the last 50 years of New York right in the palm of his hands. More remarkable is that the fact that a lot of his images have never been published.

A few months ago I came across a few blog posts about Bill Cunningham which got my attention and it was only after a while that I realised that a film had been made about him. Bill Cunningham, New York documents the life of the much celebrated photographer and the impact he has made on pop culture. It shows an artist at work and how he is much more than a creator of images but really an anthropological historian. After all this is a man who is revered by the likes of Anna Wintour who made the inoccuous comment, "We all get dressed up for Bill." We get to see the real man behind the lens as well as his humble lifestyle which consists of a simple apartment and him dashing around Manhattan on his precious bike. The documentary is directed by Richard Press who has written and directed many award winning short films. He decided to make the film due to the fascination he had about Bill as a person and how he chose to live his life. The film was released in the US on 16 March and has picked up many awards but there is no news about a UK release date.

For more information about the film, check out the website.

Fashioning February: Face Hunter Takes Manhattan

I was blown away by the video that Scott Schuman aka The Satorialist made for Intel last month where he talks about what inspires him to do his blog. So I was really excited when I came across a post on LDN Fashion about a project that Yvan Rodic aka Face Hunter is working on with NOWNESS. It consists of a sense of videos set in each of the fashion capitals - New York, London, Milan and Paris. NOWNESS is owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and part of their digital remit is to create inspiring videos about fashion, art, film. music, design, travel and sport. With his voyeuristic yet open approach, Face Hunter fits right in with the mix and the trailer for the films is very captivating to watch.

Yvan does make some very interesting comments about the nature of street style fashion.

Lately I have observed that in London and New York I am started to meet people who are fed up of being photographed all the time. But that is still a small figure compared to those who are dying to be famous for a few minutes. Nowadays if you observe the younger people who are born with the internet they consider themselves like a mini brand and having a Facebook page is like a personal advert campaign to them and any opportunity to be photographed on a street style blog gives them more visibility to get more followers and more people to know them.

He also compares Fashion Week to speed dating because of the apt of making a connection with the special person in order to create a beautiful picture. It was only this time last year that Face Hunter released his self titled book which contained the best looks from his website along with his witty observations. The book went down a storm with fashionistas everywhere who rushed to add it their collection to go with the book by The Satorialist.

The Face Hunter series launched on Tuesday and you can watch the rest of the documentaries when they air on NOWNESS.

Stylelikeu

Stylelikeu Trailer from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.
I love checking out new websites especially those on style and fashion and it is really cool to read one that brings such a personal touch. As technology progresses and social media blurs the lines between voyeurism and intrusion the web gives us a variety of content to feast on. Stylelikeu is a site that features stylish people and delves into their lives to find out what makes them tick, their influences, likes and dislikes and motivations. The website contains a profile on each person along with great images, a short bio and quote from the interviewee. However the USP of the Stylelikeu are the wonderful videos made which features the interviewees talking about their wardrobe, (they go through different outfits and talk about why they bought them) music, their careers and most importantly why fashion is so important to them. So while The Satorialist and Facehunter capture people on the street, with a Selby (esq) feel Stylelikeu shows them inside their homes.

Stylelikeu was set up by mother and daughter team, Elisa Goodkind and Lily Mandelbaum in 2008 in order to provide an outlet for people who express themselves through their clothes. The aim of the website is to provide a platform where these people can connect with like-minded people. Stylelikeu now comprise of a team of 15 who work hard behind the scenes. The brand has become so successful that they have extended into book publishing with their first book to be released next April. I really love this website and find it genius and in an era where everyone and their dog is setting up a website this one really stands out. Elisa is the former fashion editor of US Glamour and has worked as a stylist while daughter, Lily is studying film and anthropology at NYU so they both know what they are doing.

You can check out Stylelikeu here.

You can follow them on Twitter.

The Satorialist Book Signing in Liberty

Yesterday I rocked up to the book signing of The Satorialist at Liberty. I thought to myself, get there in good time so you can get a decent space as well as your book signed. Good idea right? Wrong because the whole world and his cat had the same idea and turned up in good time too. The queue was literally going round the block as hundreds of Scott Schuman fans waited patiently for him to sign their copies of his iconic book. Luckily for me I managed to get into the press event and got my book signed in no time as well as a complimentary glass of champagne too. I bumped into the lovely Leigh from Style Canteen who took this wonderful picture. Oh yes and Garance Dore was there to lend Scott some support. She looked as gorgeous as her blog. The event was held in the menswear section where a pop up store which Scott created was held and the space also held images that he has taken.

The Satorialist is available to buy from amazon here.

The Face Hunter Show

Paris part 1 from The Facehunter Show on Vimeo.

I have always regarded Face Hunter as the poor relation to The Satorialist. When it comes to street style some would say that The Satorialist aka Scott Schuman has it covered with his iconic blogsphere status which see him being cooed over by fashion editors. Also with a book due out later this year Schuman looks set to imprint The Satorialist brand online and offline. The glittering success of street style has led to everyone and their dog focusing on this trend with some doing it well like The Daily formerly know as Rubbish (the official publication for London Fashion Week) but some do it badly and with very little imagination. Swiss born, Yvan Rodic aka Face Hunter describes himself as a man out and about in London and beyond capturing eye candy for the style hungry. I would agree totally as the blog celebrates not just style but originality and verve. Yvan was working as a copywriter in advertising and a writer for a magazine when he came across the idea of starting a blog. This was back in 2006 and now Face Hunter is one of the most talked about street blogs around.

Adding another string to his bow, Yvan has launched a web TV show called The Face Hunter Show that covers fashionistas while they are out and about. Filmed in Paris, Moscow, Stockholm and Mexico City we see him fraternising with the creme a la creme of the creative art scene. He takes off to Moscow and hangs out in studios with the edgy artists, he relaxes with the cool and trendy in Sweden and he parties with the funky creatives in Mexico. I love all the shows but my favourite one is in Paris where he interviews bloggers such as Garance Dore', Eddie Newton from Style Sightings and I just loved the bit where Scott Schuman himself makes an appearance. Talk about blogger solidarity. The Face Hunter Show is a delightful and funny look into the world of creative artists around the world and it makes you realise that art just not just stop at the Tate Modern in London or The Met in New York. Yvan reveals himself to be a very charismatic character who is slightly off the wall and as batty as his subjects.

Oh and guess what? The Face Hunter also has a book out and it will be published by Thames and Hudson and will hit the stores in early next year.

Check out his myspace page, it is pretty cool.