Iris Apfel: an inspiration to young fashionistas
Iris Apfel made her name as a high-society interior designer before a show at the New York Met turned her into a fashion influencer. At 100 years old, she’s still going strong.
“I always like to do things as if I’m playing jazz; try this, try that,” says Iris Apfel. Having just celebrated her 100th birthday, the self-described “geriatric starlet” is still finding ways to express herself. This year alone, she has designed eyewear collections for Zenni Optical and teamed up with Lowes and the online market place Etsy to curate a selection of her favourite items. She marked her birthday by launching a collection with clothing chain H&M that will showcase her “creative and audacious style”.
Among younger generations of fashionistas it has become almost de rigeur to cite Apfel (motto: “More is more and less is a bore”) as an inspiration. Yet her public celebrity is a comparatively recent phenomenon and, in line with her philosophy of life, down to happenstance.
Redesigning the White House
Apfel’s first metier was interior design and fabrics, says CNBC. Her company, Old World Weavers – founded with her husband Carl Apfel in 1950 – specialised in sourcing fabric reproductions from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. She managed projects at the White House over presidencies stretching from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton. Her second career, as a high-fashion influencer, began in 2005 when she was well into “retirement”, says Town & Country. When a scheduled show at the New York Met’s Costume Institute was unexpectedly cancelled, leaving the curator scrambling around for a compelling replacement at short notice, he thought of approaching Iris – a lifelong acquirer of couture clothes and costume jewellery. The resulting show, Rara Avis: Selections from the Iris Apfel Collection, showcasing everything from Apfel’s oversized tortoise shell glasses to her whimsical patterned coats and chunky jewellery, created “an avalanche of public attention”, says The Wall Street Journal. “People kept telling me I was an overnight sensation,” she wrote in her 2018 book, Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon. ‘You’re right,’ I would reply. ‘Except my overnight was 70 years.’”
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Born in Queens, New York in 1921, the only child of Samuel and Sadye Barrel, the seeds of Apfel’s later career were sewn young. Her father imported toys, musical instruments and antiques from Germany; her mother owned a fashion boutique.
“She had tremendous style,” Apfel recalled and, because of the Depression, learned “how to do things with less” – an attitude later celebrated by her daughter’s penchant for mixing haute couture with vintage flea market finds. “I’m always interested in combining the high with the low.” Young Iris loved playing with fabric remnants and, as a teenager, she haunted the antique shops of Greenwich Village.
Cross-generational appeal
Apfel studied history of art at New York University, attended art school in Wisconsin and became a copy editor at Women’s Wear Daily. She met her husband and later business partner, Carl, in 1947. They shared the same droll sense of humour, says Town & Country. “I figured he was cool, and he was cuddly, and he cooked Chinese, so I couldn’t do any better.” Having founded their business “when the Cold War was in its infancy”, the Apfels travelled the world sourcing textiles and other curiosities for their business, says The Wall Street Journal.
Carl died three days short of his 101st birthday in 2015, leaving Iris to pursue her burgeoning solo career. She signed her first modelling contract aged 97 and is now thought to be worth around $25m. “In a culture that still tends to celebrate youth, there is something remarkable about how Iris’s appeal has intensified in her 90s,” notes one business partner. She is “cross-generational”.
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Jane writes profiles for MoneyWeek and is city editor of The Week. A former British Society of Magazine Editors editor of the year, she cut her teeth in journalism editing The Daily Telegraph’s Letters page and writing gossip for the London Evening Standard – while contributing to a kaleidoscopic range of business magazines including Personnel Today, Edge, Microscope, Computing, PC Business World, and Business & Finance.
She has edited corporate publications for accountants BDO, business psychologists YSC Consulting, and the law firm Stephenson Harwood – also enjoying a stint as a researcher for the due diligence department of a global risk advisory firm.
Her sole book to date, Stay or Go? (2016), rehearsed the arguments on both sides of the EU referendum.
She lives in north London, has a degree in modern history from Trinity College, Oxford, and is currently learning to play the drums.
-
University tuition fees will rise to £9,535 next year – what does it mean for you?
The tuition fee hike has angered many students, not to mention their parents and grandparents who often help with financial support. But will it make a difference to how much you repay in the long run?
By Katie Williams Published
-
Will platinum and palladium rise?
Analysis Platinum and palladium have lagged gold and silver recently, but the outlook is improving. Should you invest?
By David J. Stevenson Published
-
Media mogul James Dolan takes straight shot at the limelight
Controversial media mogul James Dolan has been hailed as a visionary for his Sphere arena in Las Vegas. But can he square the circle financially?
By Jane Lewis Published
-
Do we need central banks, or is it time to privatise money?
Analysis Free banking is one alternative to central banks, but would switching to a radical new system be worth the risk?
By Stuart Watkins Published
-
Byju’s – the startling rise and fall
India’s educational technology start-up Byju's attracted big-name backers and soared to vertiginous heights during Covid. It has now plummeted. What happened?
By Jane Lewis Published
-
Indian magnate Ratan Tata dies at 86 – how he made a mark in the UK
Ratan Tata took the helm of the family business in 1991 and transformed it into an international conglomerate worth $365bn. His death plunged India into mourning
By Jane Lewis Published
-
Jimmy Carter makes history as the first former US president to turn 100
When Jimmy Carter left office, few would have predicted an outbreak of national affection for the former president’s 100th birthday four decades later. But his legacy is worth celebrating
By Jane Lewis Published
-
Eric Adams: the New York City mayor charged with corruption
Controversy and accusations of corruption have followed Eric Adams in his rise to the mayoralty of New York City. Now he has been charged with a federal crime.
By Jane Lewis Published
-
How much does the prime minister get paid?
How much does the prime minister get paid and should he get more?
By Simon Wilson Published
-
Who is John Donahoe, the man who made Nike uncool?
Nike’s 48-year success story has been put into question by John Donahoe, its outgoing CEO who knew nothing about Nike or its culture. What mistakes did he make?
By Jane Lewis Published