“Working with her was the honor of a lifetime.”

Abbeville may have been over 100 years old, but it was still very much a part of modern life. On her Instagram account, where her death was also reported, she had more than three million followers. The day before her death, on February 29, the account, with the theme “More is more and less is a bore,” was still celebrating in a jovial and private way that on the leap day she was 102 and a half years old. Apfel was also active on the TikTok platform, which is mainly used by young people, where she had 215,000 followers.

Her death was confirmed after an Instagram post by Apfel's agent, Lori Seal, who described her as “extraordinary.” It is not known what caused her death.

Sobriety was the trump card, Iris Apfel didn't want to hear that. The world's oldest fashion icon was the bird of paradise in all its glory, even signing a modeling contract at the age of 96.

Apfel was born in New York on August 29, 1921, and was known throughout her life for her unusual and striking fashions, which combined high fashion with oversized jewelry and other accessories. For example, Apfel's classic look combines a feather boa with strands of thick beads, bracelets, and a Native American beaded jacket. With her big, round, black-rimmed glasses, bright red lipstick, and short white hair, she stood out at every fashion show she attended.

“I have style”

Her style has been the subject of museum exhibitions and a documentary iris, directed by Albert Maysles. She once said: “I'm not beautiful, and I'll never be beautiful, but that doesn't matter.” “I have something much better. I have style.” “Being stylish and fashionable are two completely different things,” she said in a TikTok video. “You can easily become fashionable. I think style is in your DNA. It means originality and courage.

She never retired. “I think retirement, at any age, is a fate worse than death. Just because a number comes up doesn't mean you have to stop,” she told the business and lifestyle magazine. today.

“Working with her was the honor of a lifetime. I will miss her daily phone calls, always greeted with the familiar question: ‘What do you have for me today?’” her agent, Seal, said in a statement. “A testament to her insatiable desire to work. She was an absolute visionary.” Meaning of the word. She saw the world through a unique lens, one that was adorned with a pair of giant, eye-catching glasses that were perched atop her nose.

bright colors

Apfel's mother, Sadie, owned a boutique, which naturally drew her to fashion and design. She preferred bright colors, which were also developed early. When she was a little girl, Apfel was already walking around with a suitcase full of cheerful clothes. That was her game, it made her happy.

Apfel studied art history and went to art school. It was not a big surprise that, after working as an interior designer, she founded a textile company. Apfel was an expert in antique textiles and fabrics. With her husband, Carl, she owned a textile manufacturing company, Old World Weavers, which specialized in restoration work. She traveled the world with Karl to find beautiful fabrics. They even ended up in the White House, under six different US presidents. Apfel's famous clients include Estée Lauder and Greta Garbo.

Apfel's versatility was quickly noticed, but her career as a style icon really began when New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated an exhibition to her in 2005. “Rara Avis” was the Latin title for “rare bird.” The museum described her style as “intelligent and intensely idiosyncratic.” The clothes displayed in the exhibition were unmistakably from her wardrobe. What she wore was unique, authentic and recognizable. There are known to be Iris Apfel-style carnival costumes.

Its originality is usually reflected in its mix of high and low fashion: Dior couture with flea market finds, 19th-century church gowns with Dolce & Gabbana lizard trousers. The museum said her “multi-layered collections” challenged “aesthetic conventions” and “even in their most extreme and baroque forms” represented “daring pictorial modernism.”

“accidental code”

Apfel's fame in her later years included appearances in advertising campaigns and commercials for brands such as MAC Cosmetics and Kate Spade. She also designed a collection of accessories and jewelry for the Home Shopping Network, collaborating with H&M on a collection of brightly colored clothing, jewelry and shoes, which sold out in minutes. She also launched a makeup line with Ciaté London, an eyewear collection with Zenni and collaborated with Ruggable on floor coverings. She became the face of a new advertising campaign for Citroën.

In an interview with the Associated Press in 2017, at the age of 95, she said her favorite contemporary designers were Ralph Rucci, Isabel Toledo and Naeem Khan, but added: “I have a lot, I don't look.” When asked for her fashion advice, she said : “Everyone has to find their own way. I'm great at individuality. I don't like trends. When you know who you are, what you look like and what you can do, you know what to do.

She called herself the “Icon of Serendipity,” which also became the title of a book she published in 2018, full of her memories and stylistic reflections. Apfel's odes abound, from her Barbie look to T-shirts, glasses, artwork and dolls.

Her husband, Carl, died in 2015. The couple had no children.