“Life is grand doll. You might as well have fun with it when you dress, and amuse people.”-Iris Apfel
Iris Apfel is a lot of things. She’s an artist, businesswoman, interior designer, fashion icon, muse, educator, lecturer, collector, world-class haggler, and now the oldest model ever for Australian brand Blue Illusion. But as you may have guessed, one thing this fabulous fashionista is not is your average senior. In fact, Apfel is a proud member of a fast-growing 90-and-older population that refuses to play by the “rules.” Like other nonagenarians, Apfel doesn’t accept what she hears from others about old age. “When you don’t dress like everyone else,” she says, “you don’t have to think like everyone else.” And just like what most studies have concluded about nonagenarians, this fashion goddess is creative, adaptive, self-sufficient, and she has a terrific sense of humor.
Born on August 29, 1921 in Astoria, Queens New York, Iris Apfel grew up during the Great Depression—a time when fashion wasn’t the first thing on everyone’s mind. This wasn’t the case for Apfel’s mother—owner of a fashion boutique. Apfel says that it was during this leanest of times that her mother told her that all she needed was a simple black dress. Accessories could “dress it up or down.” This is where Apfel’s fascination with art and accessories began.
Apfel went on to study art history at New York University and she attended art school at the University of Wisconsin. The fashion maven in the making had a string of exciting jobs including working for interior designer Elinor Johnson and illustrator Robert Goodman. Apfel also worked for Women’s Wear Daily and in 1947, she met Carl Apfel, an advertising executive. The couple married the following year and soon after founded Old World Weavers, which sourced and produced textiles from all over the globe.
This venture led the couple to exotic places such as Morocco, Lebanon, and Turkey. The couple worked with everyone from Jackie Kennedy to Greta Garbo. They helped restore the fabrics of major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, as well as those in the White House collection. “Every great house in America had our stuff,” says Apfel, “they wanted what no one else had.”
Although Old World Weavers was acquired by Stark in 1992, Iris and Carl continued operations within the larger company as Apfel’s star continued to rise. So much that in 2005, Iris became the subject of “Rara Avis,” an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute that celebrated her eccentric style, according to NYT. “It was a moment that changed her life,” says NYT, “catapulting her into the public eye and turning her, as she puts it now, into a “geriatric starlet.” Press requests and invitations poured in, and soon, Iris had collaborated with brands such as MAC Cosmetics and the Home Shopping Network.”
Ten years later, on August 1, 2015, Carl Apfel passed away—just three days shy of his 101st birthday. A style icon in his own right, Carl often turned patterned upholsteries into pants and wore some of the most daring men’s fashions most people had ever seen. “Carl and I, from the time we married, we did everything together,” Iris says. “We worked together, we traveled together, we lived together — until just recently, I never went anywhere without him.”
Since Carl’s death, Apfel’s schedule has not let up. Her phone still ringing off the hook (she gets more than 50 calls a day), her calendar still booked, Apfel does more in one week than women half her age—even a quarter, heck, a tenth! Now 95, the legendary tastemaker has partnered with Macy’s I.N.C. International Concepts’ fall line to create ‘Iris Meets INC’, a collection, which includes around 40 pieces focused on wardrobe staples such as statement jackets, shift dresses, A-line skirts and wide-leg pants. Says Fashion Times, “Mod-inspired florals and bold color blocking give the collection a modern retro feel.” And it’s not surprising. “I like big and bold and lots of pizazz,” says Iris. “Color can raise the dead.”
Apfel was named 2016’s Fashion Maverick at the American Apparel & Footwear Association’s 2016 American Image Awards, and earlier this year the creative genius became the face of Australian Clothing brand Blue Illusion’s new campaign titled “Ageless.” The brand has 127 stores across Australia, New Zealand, and North America. And the list of projects, photo-shoots, interviews, speaking engagements, and appearances goes on and on.
According to W Magazine, earlier this year, over the course of just one week, in her signature oversized glasses and awesomely cool baubles, the style diva flew to Paris, “sat front row at Dries Van Noten's Fall 2016 show, hosted a party at Le Bon Marche (celebrating a collection of pieces inspired by her personal style), visited Karl Lagerfeld's personal library, and saw friends like the legendary actress Marisa Berenson, journalist Mademoiselle Agnès and Bergdorf Goodman's Linda Fargo.” This is a week in the life of Iris Apfel—artist, businesswoman, interior designer, fashion icon, muse, educator, lecturer, collector, world-class haggler, and the oldest model in the world. All of this, from a woman who said, “nothing I ever did, I intended to do.”
So what’s next for Apfel, besides her 96th birthday? Continuing to do what she loves and trying new things. “You have to try it,” she says. “You only have one trip, you’ve got to remember that. When you get older, a lot of people give in to that...you have to push yourself and then you get out and you forget about yourself, otherwise you can sit there and brood all day long. I like being active. I like being in the world and of the world and everybody has to do it their own way.”
Sources
Documentary Film – I have It.
NEWS - Fashion Times, IBT Media, Inc.
Dee, Britteny. "Iris Apfel, INC International Concepts Debut 'Iris Meets INC' Collection In NYC." Fashion Times. IBT Media Inc., 30 Aug. 2016. Web. 31 Aug. 2016.
"Feisty Fashion Icon Iris Apfel Sparkles in Albert Maysles' Penultimate Documentary, 'Iris'" WTTW POV. WTTW, 06 July 2016. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.
Ingram, Lauren. "Dressed to the Nineties! Clothing Brand Blue Illusion Names 94-year-old Fashion Icon Iris Apfel as the Face of Their New Campaign." Daily Mail Australia. Associated Newspapers, 24 Feb. 2016. Web. 31 Aug. 2016.
Iris. Dir. Albert Albert Maysles. Perf. Iris Apfel and Carl Apfel. Magnolia Pictures, 2014. DVD.
Kline, Marney. "11 Inspiring Quotes from Fashion Icon Iris Apfel." Harper's BAZAAR. Hearst Communications, Inc., 29 Aug. 2015. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.
Leon, Sarah. "94-Year-Old Iris Apfel Takes Paris Fashion Week." W Magazine. Conde Nast, 04 Mar. 2016. Web. 31 Aug. 2016.
Ryall, Jenni. "94-year-old Fashion Icon Iris Stars in Campaign for Australian Fashion Brand." Mashable. Mashable, Inc., 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.
Sharma, Dr. Vijai P. "Characteristics of People Who Live Beyond 90." Characteristics of People Who Live Beyond 90. Mind Publications, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2016.
Wilkinson, Isabel. "Remembering Carl Apfel: A Style Icon in His Own Right." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.
