cover image Watching New York: Street Style A to Z

Watching New York: Street Style A to Z

Johnny Cirillo. Abrams Image, $29.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-4197-6994-8

Photographer Cirillo (Watching New York) delivers a sumptuous visual feast of New York City street style. Drawing inspiration from “legendary” street fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, who died in 2016, Cirillo wanders the streets of New York daily, capturing some of the city’s quirkiest characters and the style that sets them apart. Arranged in brief sections, including “Accessories,” “Fishnets,” “Gothic,” and “Zebra Prints,” the fashion Cirillo highlights isn’t exactly haute couture. More often subjects upcycle, wear vintage, and otherwise innovate: a pizza box repurposed as a handbag turns up, as does a seat belt used as a belt. Elsewhere, designer Monday Blues models cargo pants and a jacket they crafted from burlap coffee bags, and designer and student Israel Yanir wears huge, futuristic-looking shoes handmade from a material called vernum. Going light on words and heavy on images, Cirillo lets his subjects’ style speak for itself, both in the photos and the accompanying text drawn from brief interviews. Expertly capturing the eccentricity and creativity of street fashion, this eye-catching volume, which contains a preface from model and influencer Gigi Hadid, will delight fashionistas and those drawn to the energy of New York. Agent: Garrett McGrath, Null Books. (Apr.)