There are just certain people for whom style just comes naturally: Diana Vreeland, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Audrey Hepburn, among others, possessed the innate ability to style themselves with fashion looks that would become not only their signature looks but cement them as iconic fashion symbols as well.
Add Iris Apfel to that list. Perhaps lesser known than her more famous style compatriots, Apfel is nonetheless a grand doyenne of all things stylish. She started her career helping to create the luxury textile house, Old World Weavers, with her husband Carl. Old World Weavers went on to become synonymous in the design world with quality and luxury. Iris and Carl traveled the world as a result of their business and Iris began collecting non-Western clothing and jewelry which would form the basis for her singular look.
Apfel is an artist and her canvas is herself. She has the unique ability to craft highly layered looks from her vast collection of richly woven garments and ethnic jewelry. There is no mistaking Apfel’s look: short platinum gray hair, huge over-sized round glasses, and massive jewelry often worn in staggering amounts.
Apfel, at 94, continues to exert influence in the worlds of both high fashion and interior design. She inspires creativity and the fearlessness to mix eras, cultures and styles with utter abandon to produce something that is truly individual. We showcase the fabulous world she created in her Manhattan apartment as well as her incredibly unique sense of style and beauty in the collage below.
