Sad news: Bill Cunningham, 87, who has spent his life biking around NYC photographing eclectic street fashions – always wearing the same outfit! – is currently in the hospital recovering from a stroke.

From today’s Page 6:

“Bill’s family and senior editors from The Times have been in regular contact with him,” a spokeswoman for Cunningham’s longtime employer, The New York Times, said. “We believe that his recovery will be quick.” His regular feature On the Street, which culls together photographs of New Yorkers walking around wearing all manner of seasonally-appropriate (or inappropriate) garb did not run in the paper on Sunday. Cunningham was in bike accident last summer, but seemed to recover well.

For a primer on Bill’s importance to the fashion world, and literally millions of New Yorkers, check out the documentary Bill Cunningham New York.

What a fascinating character. Get well soon!

(Bottom photo: Pacific Coast News)