American designer Iris Apfel dies at 102

Iris Apfelcentury-old style icon of the New York borough of Queens, immediately recognizable by her oversized owl glasses, died at age 102, according to her. instagram account.

the self-described “geriatric star”, best known as a textile designer and fashion celebrity, achieved peak fame only when she was in her 80s and 90s.

An extravagant interior designer, she graced the front rows of Paris fashion shows for more than half a century.

Her short white hair, huge glasses, bright lipstick, large necklaces and bracelets earned her her eccentric distinction among New York celebrities.

Apfel filled two floors of his Park Avenue apartment with works by the great designers of the 20th century, accumulated over his many decades of life.

And designers and fashion personalities from Alejandro Wang to Isaac Mizrahi They declared themselves fans of the most chic centenarian in the world, known for her love of sweets.

‘Find your own happiness

the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York organized the first major retrospective of her wardrobe in 2005, and Apfel admitted that she was just as likely to buy interesting jewelry in a Harlem junk shop as in Tiffany.

Albert Maysles’ hit 2014 documentary about her, “Iris,” helped Apfel’s fame spread beyond the style pages.

Four years later, her autobiography “Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon” hit bookstores.

Ever the entrepreneur, Apfel was known for her collaborations with a variety of brands: a Barbie was made in her image, had a Home Shopping Network collection and even produced a makeup line with MAC Cosmetics.

the key to enjoying life, he said, is to never stop working. “I haven’t,” she once told guests at a reception in his honor at the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

“Try new things. Don’t let age and numbers scare you. You have to find your own happiness, be as individual as possible and not go with the herd,” he added.

Apfel and her husband, Carl Apfel, who lived to be 100, co-owned Old World Weavers from 1950 to 1992, restoring and selling textiles including to the White House.

Born Iris Barrel on August 29, 1921 in Queens, Apfel graduated from the University of Wisconsin art school and worked as a staff writer for Women’s Wear Daily.

Apfel, never one to shy away from color or unconventional silhouettes, urged young women at one meeting to abandon the trendy “uniform of tights or black jeans with a sweater, boots and a leather bomber jacket.”

Instead, he told them to “dare to be different. Be yourself, be individual.”

“If you wear something and it doesn’t work, don’t worry,” he joked, “the style police aren’t going to arrest you.”

Tributes poured in from the internet following Apfel’s death, reflecting his large following.

Musician Lenny Kravitz described Apfel on Instagram as someone who had “mastered the art of living” while shopping for clothes. ancient navy He remembered her as a “forever icon.”