Iris Apfel, unconventional fashion icon

I don't have any rules, because I'd only be breaking them.

Iris Apfel says. With her white hair, oversize round glasses, red lipstick and extravagant looks, the New Yorker is one of the most recognizable members of the fashion system. Despite surprisingly she hit the spotlight a few years ago, when she was already in her 80s, the interior designer has become, as she calls herself, a "geriatric starlet", a world-famous fashion icon, a regular front-row guest at fashion shows and in the street style shots, with over a million followers on Instagram.

An icon

Unconventional, eccentric, excessive, Iris has subverted every rule, destroying stereotypes and taboos about age, showing that to become an it girl you don't need to be in your twenties, but, above all, that getting old doesn't necessarily mean mortifying yourself and wearing boring looks. Quite the opposite. The only important thing is to stay true to yourself. Mrs Apfel, like a precious and colorful exotic bird, keeps playing with feathers, bracelets, necklaces, furs, jackets, dresses and blouses, offering her fans always extraordinary outfits. 

To celebrate her birthday, we reveal everything you need to know about Iris Apfel, the coolest 102 year old woman in the world.

Her parents taught her the love for art and fashion

Iris was born in 1921 in Astoria, Queens, the only daughter of a Jewish couple of Russian origin: Samuel and Sadye Barrel, a glazier-decorator and the owner of a fashion boutique. From her father she inherited the love for interior design, from her mother she learned the importance of accessories and she said:

As a child I always admired how she worshipped the altar of accessories. ike a shaman stylist, she worked her magic, transforming her workaday black dress into a smashing cocktail outfit. Her talismans were shoes and scarves, bags and belts, but most important was her costume jewelry collection…her bits and baubles, bangles and beads. Slowly, I began to appreciate their powers of transformation, their ability to evoke a mood and express an individual personality, to make a statement about the wearer.

Carl Apfel was his partner in crime for half a century

During a stay at a resort on Lake George, in the state of New York, she met her husband: Carl Apfel. Together they founded Old World Weavers, a luxury textile company specialized in the duplication of vintage fabrics. Among their clients were Estée Lauder, Greta Garbo, Jacqueline Onassis and nine presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Reagan and Clinton). Together, for over sixty years, they have worked, traveled and collected marvelous objects, furniture, clothes and antique fabrics from all over the world.

She worked for WWD

After graduating in art history from the University of Wisconsin, she pursued a career in fashion and became a copy editor for Women's Wear Daily. She soon realized that there was no editor or stylist who would ever give her a chance. As she later said, the editors were too old to get pregnant or too young to die. So she began to focus on interior design.

 She became famous thanks to MET

In 2005 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York honored her with the exhibition Rara Avis: The Irreverent Iris Apfel, collecting the most interesting pieces from her huge collection of dresses and bijoux. Thanks also to the shots of Bill Cunningham, Iris suddenly became an icon. Since then, she has appeared in all fashion magazines and blogs, especially Advanced Style; she has attended fashion week shows; brands from Glossier to Magnum, Yoox to MAC Cosmetics want her for collaborations and commercials.

  She was one of the first women to wear jeans in the U.S.

In the 40s the only ones who wore jeans were lumberjacks and farmworkers, certainly not lady girls. In order to buy them, the young Iris had to engage in a long back and forth with the owner of an army clothing store, the only one who sold them. She wanted to wear them with a white shirt, a turban and big hoop earrings. So, she continued to ask for them, until the man, exhausted, ordered her a pair.  

Her style is pure jazz improvisation

More is more and less is a bore. 

Mrs Apfel's style is unconventional, eccentric, excessive, bold, layered, colorful, baroque. Dressing for her is a process of jazz improvisation. Following only her rhythm and attitude, Iris is a master at mixing pieces found in flea markets with others of haute couture. Her outfits are a free combination of eras, cultures, made of everything she loves: bracelets, bright colors, bold prints, Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten, Oscar de la Renta, marabou feathers, furs, plastic jewelry, ethnic garments, denim, ... Her motto? "Forget the rules, if you like it wear it."

Her houses match her maximalist style

Every detail, every piece of furniture or ornaments in Iris Apfel's houses, located in New York and Palm Beach, tells a story, a fragment of the interior decorator's life. Apfel has collected and found them in bazaars, antique stores and flea markets all over the world: from 17th-century boiserie to dog-shaped statues; from Louis XVI chairs upholstered with geometrically printed velvets to metal candelabra; from trays full of bakelite jewelry to carpets and cushions with floral motifs; from monkey figurines to paintings that recall Velázquez's artworks; from stuffed parrots to ancient Venetian coffers.

She became a model at the age of 97

Interior designer, fashion enthusiast, style icon and now also model. A few years ago, at the age of 97, Iris signed a contract with IMG Models agency, the same one of Gigi and Bella Hadid. 

Her fashion muse is the first woman interior designer in history

Iris has never followed the rules of fashion and always dressed following only her instinct and personal taste, but, besides her mother, there are three muses that have influenced Apfel's style with their unique and unconventional attitude: Pauline de Rothschild, Millicent Rogers and Elsie de Wolfe aka Lady Mendl, socialite and the first woman interior designer in history.

Barbie Iris

In recent years "the oldest living teenager", as she likes to call herself, has become a true fashion icon. She has been the protagonist of capsule collections; covers of major magazines; a biography, Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon; a coloring book and was the star of the documentary entitled Iris, directed by Albert Maysles in 2014. The ultimate tribute, however, came when Mattel dedicated a Barbie to her. The doll is a mini version of the interior designer: white hair, big round black glasses, red lipstick and a look inspired by Apfel's wardrobe. There are three versions of Barbie Iris. The first one (not for sale) wears an emerald green Gucci suit; the second one is a floral brocade outfit in shades of blue and yellow; the third one, instead, wears a black turtleneck, elephant pants and a dégradé faux fur vest. The rain of necklaces and bracelets is a must.