PHOTOS: Bill Cunningham’s Secret Life As A Hat Designer

by Julia Rubin | 1:45 pm, March 29th, 2011

Have you seen Bill Cunningham New York yet? If your answer is no and you live in New York, get thee to the Film Forum immediately — the documentary’s run has been extended until April 7. For those of you who have seen it, you know that before Bill was a prolific street style photographer, he was a prolific milliner. The folks over at the Times decided to comb through Bill’s archives to create a hat-filled slideshow featuring one of his classic narrations.

Bill wasn’t just your average hatmaker, his headgear was downright artful in a Philip Treacy kind of way. Birds, origami, and windblown shapes inspired his designs, though he admits “everything I did was a little too exotic.” We can’t embed the slideshow (which is a shame because Bill’s voiceovers are the best), but you can check it out here. In the mean time, check out some of our favorite Cunningham creations below!