Iris Apfel, a pioneering textile master and New York icon known for her eclectic style, especially her oversized black-rimmed glasses, died Friday at her home in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 102 years old.
A unique tastemaker, Apfel has been the centerpiece of museum exhibitions, including one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2005. She was also featured in a 2007 coffee table book, her groundbreaking 2012 MAC cosmetics campaign, and a 2014 documentary.
She worked with nine first ladies on a design restoration at the White House, using fabrics from Old World Weavers, a textile company she co-founded with her late husband Karl Apfel.
Apfel was a New Yorker through and through. She was born Iris Burrell on August 29, 1921, in Queens, the only child of two Jewish farmers.
Her father, Samuel, ran a mirror and glass shop, and her mother, Sadie, ran a clothing boutique, and she discovered her creativity from an early age.
Just 12 years old, she took the subway to Manhattan on a Thursday afternoon and did some window shopping. Here’s what she said about her experience: guardian In a 2015 interview.
“Back then, you could ride the entire subway line for a nickel, so every week I would ride to a different area of New York: Chinatown, Yorkville, Harlem, Greenwich Village,” she told the outlet.
She continued: “And I really fell in love with the Village. This Village was where I started wandering through antique shops and becoming fascinated with old junk.”
Apfel studied art history at New York University and then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
After graduating in 1943, she returned to New York and began working as a copywriter for Women’s Wear Daily. Harper’s Bazaar. She also worked as an assistant to interior designer Eleanor Johnson.
She and Carl started Old World Weavers in 1950, two years after they were married.
They loved traveling the world together, sourcing items for fun and design projects. The company says they were inspired by unique designs they found on their travels to places like North Africa and Europe. Inside.
Their clients included Estée Lauder, Faye Dunaway and Greta Garbo, the newspaper reported.
Although Apfel was well known in New York City circles, her name did not become widely known until later in life, at the age of 84, to be exact. That’s when she was selected for a museum exhibit.
In 2005, Apfel received a phone call from Harold Korda, a fashion scholar and curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
An exhibition scheduled to take place that summer was canceled, and Koda had heard a lot about Apfel’s extensive costume jewelry collection, so she decided to ask her to curate it. The Guardian newspaper reported.
The show that followed was “Lara Avis: Selection from the Iris Apfel Collection” was shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from September 2005 to January 2006. The show featured 40 of her own accessories, including Gripova’s brooch and her 18th-century paste earrings.
“A true American original, Iris Apfel is one of the most dynamic figures in the worlds of fashion, textiles, and interior design, and for the past 40 years has created a collection of resourceful and exuberantly idiosyncratic individuals. ”, the museum said, adding that her “originality” can be seen in her combination of high and low fashion.
“She combines colors, textures, and patterns with remarkable dignity and insight, regardless of era, provenance, and ultimately aesthetic convention,” the museum continued. “Paradoxically, her richly layered combinations, even the most extreme and baroque, project a boldly graphic modernity.”
The designer often referred to herself as an “elderly starlet” as she was given several opportunities after her exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 2007, she was the subject of a coffee table photo shoot cleverly titled “Fashion’s Rare Bird: The Irreverent Iris Apfel.” “Rare Bird” is the Latin translation of “Lara Avis.”
Following Lara Avis, she lipstick line For MAC Cosmetics. she launched She launched her own fashion line on the Home Shopping Network in 2011, cheekily titled “Lara Avis by Iris Apfel” after her exhibition.
In 2014, a documentary about her life was released by award-winning filmmaker Albert Maysles. Her documentary “Iris” earned her an Emmy nomination in 2017.
This work was one of Maysles’ last works before his death in 2015 at the age of 88.
“They just shot so much footage. I think there’s enough film left on the cutting room floor for three more movies, so it was kind of a shock,” Apfel said. Told. the cut About the 2015 documentary.
“I’m so happy that Albert liked this piece because it was his last one. I’m so happy with the response that I got because I had no idea what to expect. . I thought people might just laugh in a way that wasn’t right.”
The designer often referred to herself as an “accidental icon,” a title she also gave to her 2018 memoir.
That same year, Mattel created a Barbie doll in honor of International Women’s Day. At the time, she was 96 years old, making her the oldest person to become a Barbie doll.
Her other artistic collaborations include machine-washable rug retailer Luggable, cosmetics company Ciaté London, and clothing brand H&M.
In 2021, she celebrated her 100th birthday on the 100th floor of Central Park Tower. According to “Today” — The party will feature Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan, Katie Holmes, Barbie Ferreira, Alexis Bitter and other A-list stars.
The style icon was married to Karl Apfel from 1948 until his death in 2015 at the age of 100, just days before his 101st birthday. they had no children.
