Iris Apfel's Most Iconic Looks
Walter Silver
Iris Apfel, the 91-year-old fashion designer, has been the best dressed person in the room longer than most of us have even owned a closet. In her younger years, Apfel lived in Astoria, Queens with her mother, a fashion boutique owner, and her father, the owner of a glass-and-mirror business. She later worked for Women's Wear Daily and then opened a textile firm called Old World Weavers with her husband, Carl Apfel. She's also done restoration at the White for presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Reagan, and Clinton. Today, she makes her way from one fashion show to the next and is often a muse for designers and their collections. Here are some of her most amazing looks through the years in honor of her 92nd birthday.
Walter Silver
Iris Apfel shows off her shoe collection in her Manhattan apartment. When you're 91 years old (let alone Iris Apfel), it's not a huge surprise that you own hundreds of pairs.
Peabody Essex Museum
Iris Apfel shows off her signature spectacles. Apfel has recently agreed to collaborate with the eyeware company Eyebobs for a glasses collection.
Bruce Weber
Iris Apfel wears head-to-toe red to the Joanna Mastroianni Fall 2013 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Studio at Lincoln Center on February 10, 2013. Are those duck boots we see?
Joe Kohen/Getty
Iris with her husband Carl (who is now 99) at Bergdorf Goodman's 111th anniversary celebration at the Plaza Hotel on October 18, 2012 in New York City.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Apfel wears a bright yellow silk tunic and a jeweled choker as she poses backstage with Alexander Wang at the 2011 CFDA Fashion Awards at Alice Tully Hall on June 6, 2011 in New York City.
Andrew H. Walker/Getty
Iris Apfel posed for the cover of Dazed magazine's November 2012 art issue wearing Comme des Garçons.
Apfel wears a pleated metallic jacket to the 2010 CFDA Fashion Awards at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on June 7, 2010 in New York City.
Dimitrios Kambouris
Apfel wears a massive beaded tribal necklace to the Lighthouse International Light Years Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on October 20, 2008 in New York City.
Joe Kohen/Getty
Apfel in leather pants with some added furry flare at Chado Ralph Rucci 's 25th Anniversary Retrospective in 2007.
Duffy-Marie Arnoult/WireImage
Iris Apfel steps onto the runway during the Joanna Mastroianni Fall/Winter 2012 collection during New York Fashion Week February 15, 2012. Apfel was the designer's muse for the collection.
Kena Betancur/Reuters/Corbis
Apfel always has something fabulous around her neck, whether it's layers of expensive jewels or this furry scarf, for example.
Conde Nast/Corbis
Her date to Fashion's Night Out 2009 at Bergdorf Goodman was the little man hanging around her neck.
Steve Eichner/Conde Nast/Corbis
Apfel takes a bow on the runway at Joanna Mastroianni's fall 2012 show at The Studio at Lincoln Center.
Thomas Iannaccone/Conde Nast/Corbis
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.