IRIS APFEL FASHION ICON DRIPS AT 100
American fashion icon IRIS APFEL is one of the industry’s oldest tastemakers. A self-appointed “geriatric starlet”, this New York-based personality is the living embodiment of ‘age is just a number’. After founding an international fabric manufacturing company with her late husband in the 50s, Apfel’s penchant for style quickly became world-renowned. Growing up in Queens, New York, Iris Apfel was an only child, so her parents often brought her to family events where she was the only kid. Many of these events were at her paternal grandparents’ home in Brooklyn, New York.
To entertain Apfel, her grandmother let her play with fabric scraps, which she had in large quantities because her four daughters often sewed for charity. After each visit, if Apfel had behaved, her grandmother allowed her to take home six scraps. She became obsessed with texture, colour, and pattern, and spent most evenings entertaining herself that way which gave her a deep interest in fabrics.
Apfel is famous for her eclectic style. She pairs layers of bright colours and oversized glasses and jewelry together, and is one of the most vivacious personalities in the worlds of fashion, textiles, and interior design. For over 40 years, she has cultivated a personal style that is both witty and exuberantly idiosyncratic.
To celebrate the style entrepreneur’s 100th birthday born August 29, even if you aren’t interested in bold, bright fashion, below are memorable fashion moments and candid words of wisdom we would all do well to remember.