She died at her home in Palm Beach, Florida, according to Stu Loeser, a spokesperson for her estate.
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Known as the self-proclaimed “geriatric starlet,” Apfel was a trendsetter famous for donning bright, contrasting colors and patterns.
The eccentric style turned her into an unlikely fashion icon in her 80s, becoming recognizable for her oversized glasses and feather boas.
Apfel appeared regularly in the New York Times style pages, in advertisements for Kate Spade and Coach, and was photographed for Vogue magazine.
Born in 1921, Apfel’s career started when she was a copywriter for Women’s Wear Daily while also working as an interior designer.
She married her husband, Carl, in 1948 and the two launched a textile firm, Old World Weavers, two years later, running the business until their retirement in 1992.
The couple specialized in fabric reproductions from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and would travel to Europe twice a year to get fabrics they could not source in the US.
Throughout her career, Apfel took on several restoration projects, including a contract at the White House for nine presidents – including, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton.
“I’m not pretty, and I’ll never be pretty, but it doesn’t matter,” Apfel once said.
“I have something much better. I have style.”
In honor of her 100th birthday in 2021, Apfel teamed up with H&M for a special collection, which dropped on April 14, 2022.
Several pieces sold out instantly with prices ranging between $30 and $400.
The most expensive item was a purple Flounced Jacket with a rhinestone-embellished button.
This past August, Apfel celebrated her 102nd birthday with several of her famous friends.
Christie Brinkley shared several photos of Apfel’s birthday along with fashion designer Donna Karan and Brinkley’s daughter Alexa Ray Joel.
“Happy Birthday to Iris! She’s 102 and she’s got more style than me and you,” Brinkley wrote.
“She the Queen of fashion who gets better every year. And todays her birthday did you hear? She’s got her trademark glasses and a wardrobe of fun and we wish her every happiness under the sun She’s smart snd savvy and extremely witty and she wants everyone to know that individuality’s always pretty that we should all be ourselves one of a kind. Good advice like that’s hard to find so thank you Iris for all you do To say to people ‘you do you!’ (Like you do so well! ) Happy Birthday Iris! We LOVE YOU!
Apfel was preceded in death by her husband, Carl, who died in 2015 at age 100.
The couple had no children due to their busy schedules, which included a lot of travel as Apfel once said she didn’t want her children to be raised by a nanny.
“I don’t believe in a child having a nanny, so it wasn’t what we were going to do, but also having children is like protocol,” she told the Guardian in 2015.
“You’re expected to. And I don’t like to be pigeonholed.”
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