June 25, 2016 8:32 PM EDT
Bill Cunningham , the legendary fashion photographer for the New York Times , has died, after being hospitalized earlier in the week following a stroke. He was 87.
A regular at all of New York’s fashion shows, Cunningham always wore the same “uniform”—a blue jacket and khaki pants—and photographed both the famous and the unknown.
“I realized that you didn’t know anything unless you photographed the shows and the street, to see how people interpreted what designers hoped they would buy,” Cunningham once wrote . “I realized that the street was the missing ingredient.”
His work, which spans more than 40 years, forms an anthropological study of our society’s fashion—one that will be remembered for years to come.
Here is a gallery of Cunningham at work.
Photographer Bill Cunningham attends the 8th Annual Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit honoring Cate Blanchett at Museum of Modern Art in New York City on Nov. 17, 2015. Noam Galai—WireImage Anna Wintour, Bill Cunningham and Wintour's daughter Bee Shaffer during New York Fashion Week, at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City on Feb. 18, 2016. Dina Litovsky—Redux Bill Cunningham, Jerry Seinfeld and Jessica Seinfeld attend the Narciso Rodriguez fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015 at SIR Stage37 in New York City on Feb. 17, 2015. Ben Gabbe—Getty Images Rihanna, Bill Cunningham, and Stella McCartney at the Costume Institute Gala Benefit celebrating Charles James: Beyond Fashion - Dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 5, 2014. David X Prutting—BFA/REX/Shutterstock Designer Mary McFadden and New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham attend the Casita Maria Fiesta 2015 at The Plaza Hotel in New York City on Oct. 13, 2015. Laura Cavanaugh—Getty Images Director Martin Scorsese and actress Cate Blanchett pose for photographer Bill Cunningham at the Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit's Tribute to Cate Blanchett at MoMA in New York City on Nov. 17, 2015. Rebecca Smeyne—Getty Images American fashion photographer Bill Cunningham and Executive Director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Fern Mallis, at the CFDA Awards, in 1994. Rose Hartman—Getty Images More Must-Reads from TIME Where Trump 2.0 Will Differ From 1.0 How Elon Musk Became a Kingmaker The Power—And Limits—of Peer Support The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024 Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision