Iris Apfel: designer, design and style star– a life in images

Born in 1921 in New York, Iris Apfel, the interior designer and style tastemaker discovered popularity as an octogenarian. In September 2021 she commemorated her 100th birthday with a celebration at Central Park Tower Photograph: Taylor Hill/Getty Images In 1948, she wed Carl Apfel. 2 years later on they released the fabric company Old World Weavers. Specialising in material recreations from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, their customers consisted of Greta Garbo and Estée Lauder, and she likewise worked for the White House Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex In 2005, her individual collection of vintage and designer devices and clothing ended up being the topic of an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It marked the very first time the Met had actually concentrated on a living woman who wasn’t a designer. In 2010, she bestowed her whole Rare Bird of Fashion collection to the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts Photograph: Boston Globe/Getty Images In 2014, a movie about her life entitled Iris, directed by Albert Maysles, was launched Photograph: Magnolia Pictures/Allstar As an octogenarian, Apfel accumulated a substantial social networks following who liked her distinctive individual design and amusing life recommendations. She explained herself as ‘the world’s earliest living teen’ Photograph: Startraks Photo/Rex Apfel fronted projects for a range of brand names consisting of Kate Spade, eBay, Magnum and Citroen Photograph: Grzegorz Czapski/Alamy In March 2022, she teamed up on a pill collection with H&M. It showed her love of colour, prints and textures Photograph: pr Apfel ended up being a front-row routine. Here she goes to the Calvin Klein reveal at New York style week in 2011 Photograph: Gregory Pace/BEI/Rex Features In 2018, aged 96, Mattel made a Barbie doll in her similarity Photograph: Frederic Reglain/Alamy When inquired about aging in a 2018 interview she responded: ‘I would not wish to stop the clock. No, that would be so dull. It would resemble being captured in a time maker, a time warp. I do not like that. I believe range is the spice of life.’Here Apfel is imagined at her 100th birthday celebration in 2021 Photograph: Noam Galai/Getty Images for Central Park Tower

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