New York has lost a true fashion icon with the passing of Iris Apfel at the age of 102. The textile expert, interior designer, and fashion celebrity was known for her eccentric style and fearless attitude towards fashion. Her commercial agent, Lori Sale, described her as “extraordinary” and her death was announced on her verified Instagram page on Friday, which had just celebrated her 102nd-and-a-half birthday the day before.
Born on August 29, 1921, Apfel was famous for her irreverent and eye-catching outfits that mixed haute couture with oversized costume jewelry. Her signature style often included a feather boa, chunky beads, bangles, and a jacket adorned with Native American beadwork. With her big, round, black-rimmed glasses, bright red lipstick, and short white hair, she stood out at every fashion show she attended.
Apfel’s unique style caught the attention of many, and she became the subject of museum exhibits and a documentary film, Iris, directed by Albert Maysles. She once famously said, “I’m not pretty, and I’ll never be pretty, but it doesn’t matter. I have something much better. I have style.” And indeed, her style was one-of-a-kind and left a lasting impact on the fashion world.
In her later years, Apfel gained a new level of fame through social media, amassing nearly 3 million followers on Instagram. Her profile bio read, “More is more & Less is a Bore,” and she continued to inspire and entertain her followers with her fashion and style wisdom on platforms like TikTok, where she had 215,000 followers. In one of her TikTok videos, she said, “Being stylish and being fashionable are two entirely different things. You can easily buy your way into being fashionable. Style, I think, is in your DNA. It implies originality and courage.”
Apfel never retired, and she firmly believed that “retiring at any age is a fate worse than death.” She continued to work and inspire others with her unique perspective on fashion. Her commercial agent, Lori Sale, shared in a statement, “Working alongside her was the honor of a lifetime. I will miss her daily calls, always greeted with the familiar question: ‘What have you got for me today?’ Testament to her insatiable desire to work. She was a visionary in every sense of the word. She saw the world through a unique lens – one adorned with giant, distinctive spectacles that sat atop her nose.”
Apart from her fashion sense, Apfel was also an expert on textiles and antique fabrics. She and her husband, Carl, owned a textile manufacturing company, Old World Weavers, and worked on restoration projects, including projects at the White House under six different U.S. presidents. Her celebrity clients included Estee Lauder and Greta Garbo.
In 2005, Apfel’s fame reached new heights when the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City hosted a show about her called Rara Avis, which is Latin for “rare bird.” The museum described her style as “both witty and exuberantly idiosyncratic.” They also praised her for her ability to mix high-end fashion with flea market finds and for her “layered combinations” that defied aesthetic conventions and represented a “boldly graphic modernity.”
The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, was one of the many museums around the country that hosted a traveling version of the show. Apfel was so moved by the response to the exhibit that she decided to donate hundreds of pieces from her personal collection to the museum. The Museum of Fashion & Lifestyle near her winter home in Palm Beach, Florida, also plans to dedicate a gallery to display items from Apfel’s collection.
Apfel’s fame continued to grow in her later years, and she appeared in ads for brands like M.A.C. cosmetics and Kate Spade. She also collaborated with various brands, designing accessories, jewelry, and even a line of makeup. In a 2017 interview with the Associated Press at the age of 95, she shared her favorite contemporary designers, including Ralph Rucci, Isabel Toledo, and Naeem Khan. But she also emphasized the importance of individuality and finding one’s own style. She said, “Everybody should find her own way. I’m a great one for individuality. I don
