Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 10
American designer and fashion icon Iris Apfel has died at the age of 102.
The self-described “geriatric starlet” was known for her distinctive cropped white hair, oversized glasses, bright lipstick and chunky beads. Apfel reached the peak of her fame in the 1980s and 90s, but was a familiar face at Paris fashion shows for more than half a century. She also served a host of celebrity clients, including Greta Garbo and Estée Lauder. Her death was announced to her almost three million followers on Instagram, with a picture of Apfel sporting her renowned oversized round glasses.
US designer Tommy Hilfiger was among those to pay tribute as he praised Apfel as an “innovator and leader” in the world of textiles and style, who “will go down in history”.
Born to a Jewish family in New York in 1921, Apfel originally studied the history of art and specialised in interior design, particularly textiles.
She worked as an interior designer for decades, including on restoration projects at the White House, before becoming a trend setter in her 80s and a professional model at 97.
