Iris Barrel, better known as Iris Apfel, died this Friday, March 1, as reported on her official Instagram account. The news was confirmed by Stu Loeser, a spokesperson for the iconic figure. She was 102 years old and her death was recorded at her home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Apfel distinguished himself by promoting his own style until his death. In a 2011 interview with The New York Times he said that “when you don’t dress like everyone else, you don’t have to think like everyone else.”
Who was Iris Apfel?
He was born on August 29, 1921 in Queens, New York. She was the daughter of importer Samuel Barrel and Sadye Barrel, the owner of a fashion boutique.
Since she was 11 years old, she bought her clothes, because her mother was busy and could not accompany her. The value of the first dress she bought unaccompanied by an adult was US$12.95.
She began her career in design and fashion at Women’s Wear Daily magazine, as an assistant costume illustrator and worked on the editorial side.
In 1947 she met Carl Apfel, whom she married in 1948 and they were together for 67 years, until the textile businessman died in 2015.
In 1950 they founded Old World Weavers, a successful textile and interior design company.
On nine occasions she worked as an interior designer for the White House, in the United States, during the administrations of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Clinton.
At the age of 84, she rose to fame after the 2005 exhibition of “Rara Avis: Selections from the Iris Apfel Collection” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where 80 pieces were exhibited that showed the mixture of her style. A journey between luxury garments from brands such as Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Nina Ricci, Geoffrey Beene and Lanvin, to second-hand items and flea markets around the world.
In 2014, Albert Maysles made a documentary about her life called Iris.
In 2022, at 101 years old, he carried out a global collaboration with the Swedish company H&M. At that time the company stated that “Iris Apfel represents the notion that style and inspiration can come from anywhere and from anyone, regardless of price.