Street Speak

 

It's been a hectic week and a half of moving from Essex to Epsom, there's no more fake tan insight, unless it’s on me, no more super enhanced features and definitely no handbag sized dogs trailing along the streets. Instead the streets are filled with the creativity and quirky looks of art students and dancers.

After a few tearful days settling in and getting use to the student way of life which accounts for Sainsbury’s basic food and choosing whether or not a bottle of vodka is essential over food the first year students visited the cinema to watch Bill Cunningham New York: A film by Richard Press.

The film documents the inspirational life of photographer Bill Cunningham as he darts around the streets on his bicycle snapping at the style which catches his eye. Nonetheless, he is not the confrontational fashion photographer attacking the latest celebrity; instead he captures beautifully dressed women in a more evasive way. He believes fashion to be "mirroring our times" and is a vital concept in our way of living, he sees the street as a catwalk and that it speaks to him, it gives him the answers that catwalk shows don't.

Cunningham is an unassuming man who prefers not to take money from his work and lives in a cramped flat. He sees his work as pleasure and this is why he has become legendary, even Anna Wintour said Cunningham is the person she gets dressed for.

After watching this documentary I felt inspired by the beauty and individualistic style of the street, it’s something that no fashion show can create. Even though the world is becoming more and more similar and people are becoming complacent and would not dare to step outside drab office clothes or lazy pj's but if you open your eyes and actually view the creativity of the street you'll realize the abundance of personalities in the world and everybody has their little box of style.