Iris Apfel: a rare bird in the fashion world. Iris Apfel: a rare bird in the world of fashion Fashionable old lady Iris

“I’m the oldest teenager in the world,” I’m sure Iris Apfel. Now she is 95 years old, and she is truly full of vitality and drive that some teenagers would envy. Rebellious images, bright appearance, love for experiments - all this is her. She built a successful career, lived a happy life, tried on hundreds of looks and, it seems, unraveled the secret of longevity and beauty!

This amazing woman is called a style icon. “The oldest teenager in the world,” as the extravagant lady calls herself, surprises the public with extraordinary costumes and unusual taste. Combining fashionable outfits with items found at flea markets around the world, she boldly refutes stereotypes that only young people can be fashionable.

Birthday emoji

Creating her clothing collection, Iris Apfel (her correct name is Iris - sounds like Iris in Russian) is making plans for the future and admits that in our world it is much more important to be happy than to be stylishly dressed. On August 29, the influential person in the fashion world will celebrate her 95th birthday, and a unique gift for her on the occasion will be the release of emoji - icons like emoticons, incredibly popular in in social networks. “I don’t even know what it is, but I agreed to design images with my face. If they make someone happy, then I will be very happy,” explains the designer.

Innate taste

Apfel was born in one of the New York districts in the family of an entrepreneur and an emigrant from Russia. Rich parents from early childhood surrounded their daughter with love, who had practically no problems. The only thing that bothered her was her own appearance.

The not very pretty girl did not like to look in the mirror. However, Iris did not develop any complexes thanks to her intelligence, sense of humor and innate taste. The girl recalled how in her youth the owner of the store called her and said that the lady offended by beauty had a special gift that would help in life - her unique style.

Designer is a calling

This is exactly what the girl proved by getting a job in the fashion industry. At first she worked for Women’s Wear Daily magazine. Later, interested in creating beautiful interiors, Iris Apfel began to collaborate with a famous specialist in her field. She tidied up the apartments that were intended for sale, and pulled original things out of the ground, making the premises look attractive in the eyes of buyers. This is how the rebel realized that design was her true calling.

Fateful meeting

A stylishly dressed girl at the age of 27 meets her future husband, who at the very first meeting was amazed by her appearance. Karl, in love, admired his beloved’s wardrobe every day and four months later proposed to Iris Apfel. The young lady did not think for a long time and never regretted the decision taken. About Us great love speaks about her husband, saying that only with him she finds mutual language and full understanding.

Happy married couple

One day a man said that his wife would be much more impressive if she fixed her big nose. “Dream on!” - answered Iris Apfel, who has no complexes and is quick-tongued.

Children are a personal pain for the family, which, unfortunately, has not acquired heirs. In a humorous manner, the fashionista answers indiscreet questions from journalists, saying that it is simply impossible to manage everything in this life. However, this is an extremely successful marriage that has lasted for more than 60 years.

A married couple is always and everywhere together and supports each other in any endeavor. Happy wife Iris Apfel talks about this in numerous interviews; her biography is proof of this. In the late 50s, Karl and his wife created a textile company that produced fabrics with original prints. True, after 40 years they sold their brainchild to new owners, but Iris remained to work as a consultant.

The ability to combine things

What is the secret of this amazing woman? Iris Apfel, whose photo often appears in fashion magazines, has a special ability to combine branded outfits with cheap things. She loves to travel, she buys clothes and brings original accessories from each trip.

The fashion star admits that in her apartment three whole rooms are occupied by a wardrobe full of the most extravagant finds. And Apfel is in no hurry to part with any of them. It is noteworthy that even the dress that she was wearing on the first date is still kept in her bins.

New York's first woman to wear jeans

The designer rejects fashion standards, choosing things to suit himself. She even let slip that she had not paid attention to designer collections before and did not want to meet famous couturiers.

An extravagant rebel in old age often dresses like a teenager. She not only loves unusual clothes with bright accessories, but also loves to wear pants and a regular T-shirt. By the way, they say that Iris was the first woman in New York to buy jeans. She dared to appear in society wearing trousers that had previously only been worn by men.

Focus on accessories

The creative personality works with the HSN brand, creating amazing jewelry collections. The author's works reflect her own preferences, and Iris Apfel has never made an accessory in tribute to fashion trends.

The designer states that jewelry is the most interesting direction. You can have one dress, but diversify it with beads and bracelets so that you get not one, but several images that emphasize a person’s individuality. It is curious, but a woman who does not part with things often sells off her collections of expensive jewelry.

Significant event in career

2005 was a landmark year for Iris: she opened an exhibition of her outfits, joking that it was not just an exhibition, but a foray into her rich wardrobe. Numerous collections of clothing and more than 300 accessories were presented to the public. Apfel was pleased that the fashion event was attended not only by ordinary spectators, but also by celebrities.

After the exhibition, the diva was inundated with letters of gratitude from ordinary Americans, who were delighted by the spectacle they saw, and many admitted that they began to approach the choice of things differently. Viewers were shocked by how Iris Apfel combined items from flea markets with expensive outfits. The unbridled eclecticism of the experimenter by nature pleased the visitors, who fell in love with the fashionable cocktail of diverse fabric textures and colors. Items that were incongruous in style, decorated with accessories, looked elegant and catchy.

Some women, after the colorful event, even decided to change not only their appearance, but their entire lives. For many, the exhibition was a real discovery, proving that you can be yourself and not look like an urban freak. And the famous designer Ralph Lauren wanted Apfel, whose calling card was large round glasses and a huge amount of jewelry, to work in his company.

Apfel's sayings

The multifaceted Iris Apfel, whose quotes sell like hotcakes, became a very recognizable person after this event. Various publications love to publish her statements, as they contain a lot of sincerity and humor.

For example, the star once admitted that her wardrobe is growing every day, which cannot be said about her thin waist.

One day Iris was so cold that she rushed to look for something fur in her things, but could not find it. “I rummaged through everything, and then my gaze fell on a mohair throw from the sofa. Wrapping myself in it made me feel great,” the designer laughs.

Having never had plastic surgery, the bright personality makes fun of those who dream of eternal youth: “No matter what you inject into your face, at the age of 80 no one will be able to boast of the appearance of a 30-year-old charmer. Humble yourself and add intelligence, not Botox.”

The other day I was talking to a friend about old age. What we will become. I remembered a photograph of Nina Khrushcheva, who, against the backdrop of Jackie Kennedy, looked like a natural milkmaid in a headscarf. I would like to remain a modern, energetic, cheerful old lady. I don’t want to smell old, I want to have my own individual style and favorite hobby. We even laughed at the fact that I could become a wedding stylist and buy new brand“Cool wedding stylist Babba Zhenya.” And what a lot of fun! A sophisticated lady of Balzac's age comes to dress and make up the bride! Apparently, the Universe felt that I needed to set a good example. And in my subscriptions I read an interview with Iris Apfel. First look at her photo, she is 90 years old! Now click on the “next” link and read Interesting Facts about this amazing, talented, tireless woman.

When you look at Iris Apfel for the first time, what thought comes to your mind: what a strange woman?

But she's actually a genius. Not because, together with her husband, she was able to create the textile company Old World Weavers, whose fabrics were ordered by the most famous extravagant personalities, not because she worked for 9 US presidents on the restoration of the White House, not because in 2005 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York organized her design exhibition, aptly naming her style “Rara Avis (rare bird) – the daring Iris Epfel.”

Curriculum Vitae

Iris Apfel is an American businesswoman, born in New York, August 29, 1921, an interior designer and style icon. The only child in the family of Samuel Burrell, owner of a glass business. Mom has Russian roots.

Iris studied art history at New York University and attended art school at the University of Wisconsin. She has worked for Women's Wear Daily and for interior designer Elinor Johnson. She was also an assistant to illustrator Robert Goodman.

In 1948, she married Karl Epfel. Two years later, they created a successful textile company, Old World Weavers, whose clients included Greta Garbo, Estée Lauder and others. During this time, Iris took part in many design projects, including working on a special project for the White House, outliving 9 presidents: Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Reagan and Clinton.

Iris is a professor and consultant on style and fashion. The most succinct statement that characterizes Iris: “Iris Epfel lives flamboyantly, she dresses and looks the same as her three-room apartment in Manhattan on Park Avenue” (Architectural Digest).

Life

First of all, Iris Apfel is a true style icon. She created a personal style for herself, mixing whatever she liked, without worrying at all that she might end up looking grotesque.

“I'm a hopeless romantic. I buy things because I fall in love with them. I will never buy something just because it is expensive. My husband says about me that I look at the fabric and listen to the whispering of the threads. They tell me a story. They sing me a song. I should have reactions on a physical level. Like lightning. This is a very funny feeling!”

As proof - the heroine of today's article. An elderly lady in huge round glasses and bright lipstick on her lips - two essential attributes her image. Despite her small stature, she loves to wear large jewelry and the more, the better. The woman who is “one of the main trendsetters in America” is Iris Apfel. At 90 years old, she has such a love of life, charm and sense of humor that not everyone can boast of even at 20 years old!

Iris Barrel Apfel– collector, designer, creator of the prestigious and world-famous fabric manufacturing company Old World Weavers. Born in Queens (New York, Long Island) in a family of Russian emigrants on January 1 1923 year, shortly before the start of the global economic crisis, which went down in history as the Great Depression. At 19, Iris worked for Women's Wear Daily. But she soon realized that this was not what she wanted to do and became an interior designer. Iris’s father is an entrepreneur who specialized in the supply of items made of mirrors and glass, worked with the best designers in the USA, and he helped his daughter get used to this environment.In the 50s, together with her husband Karl (who has been married for 60 years), Iris opened a textile company called Old World Weavers, which was engaged in the restoration of antique fabrics. The main customers, of course, were museums. But the list of regular clients also included the White House during the reign of several presidents - from Nixon to Clinton. Iris sold the company in 1992 but continues to work there as a consultant. But Iris Apfel became famous not as the founder of Old World Weavers, but as an extravagant woman who masterfully mixed styles. Harmonious eclecticism is unique to her. Before Apfel, no one had managed to intertwine seemingly incompatible clothing elements and accessories so subtly. She mixes items from street fashion and flea markets with haute couture items, seasoning them with oriental flavor. She never followed fashion - it was too boring and too ordinary. Fashion did not meet her inner needs, her worldview. Iris created her own style, which distinguishes her from the gray mass of the majority, through trial and error. Life taught her how to become unique. Apfel says: “If you cannot be beautiful, you must make yourself attractive. I came to the conclusion that all those cute girls I studied with had turned into morels. They were used to having a good face and did not make any effort to look better. We didn't learn to be interesting. But if you are a little deprived of something, you have to work it out on your own.”

Dressing, according to Apfel, is a fun and delightful creative process. She is perhaps the most avid shopaholic. The process of searching for something unusual excites her imagination. She carefully looks for interesting details, dreams of what to combine them with - for her this is real excitement. It is not enough for her to come to the store and try on clothes offered by consultants. Iris is in the store like an archaeologist at an excavation. She loves to look for extraordinary solutions. For her, the highlight of shopping is the search process, from which she gets a storm of emotions. Her main passion is jewelry, because, as her mother said, with their help, even from one dress you can create dozens of looks. Thanks to her curiosity and sense of humor, she was able to find a huge amount of unique jewelry, accessories and clothing. One day, for their next exhibition, the Fashion Institute asked Iris for just a few of her accessories, but that was before they saw how many they would have to choose from. Ultimately, the Fashion Institute staged a separate exhibition of Iris Apfel accessories, which was a huge success. In 2009 at The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York hosted another exhibition entitled "Rara Avis: Selections from the Iris Barrel Apfel Collection" ("Rare Bird: Selections from the Iris Barrel Apfel Collection"). It included 82 ensembles and about 300 accessories collected all over the world.Iris herself called the show simply “a raid on her dressing room.” In fact, that's how it is.Needless to say, the exhibition created a sensation. After her, Apfel received many letters. People confessed to her that they were afraid to be bright and show their individuality. They are much easier to follow general rules and trends, they are afraid of being misunderstood and unaccepted by society. But this exhibition inspired them, they saw that individuality and brightness are more beautiful than dullness. People thanked Iris for helping change their lives.

Iris Apfel created her own style by listening to herself and looking for something new that fashion could not offer, because Iris was always ahead of her. And it turned out that she also helped others break out of the framework of everyday life and not be afraid to experiment.Apfel is completely confident that things are meant to be worn, and not stored, carefully brushing away specks of dust. The item is not a museum exhibit, it is designed to decorate a person, not hangers and mannequins. “One lady once showed me her new acquisition - an amazing dress from Jeffrey Beene for $15,000. When I saw it, I couldn’t contain my delight: “I can imagine the pleasure you get when you put it on!” And she answered me: “What are you talking about! This is part of my collection! You don’t wear something that was on display in a museum!” “Well, that means I don’t have a collection!” – I objected. For Iris, clothing is not a cult. She sees it as a way to highlight her inner beauty while being in harmony with herself.

Today, Iris Apfel is the face of the cosmetics brand's latest campaign. M. A. C ., whose slogan is “beauty beyond age limits.” Iris also plans to soon launch a jewelry line called Iris Apfel Jewellery. It will feature large jewelry made of metal, glass and semi-precious stones. They will be sold in the TV store on the HBO channel, as well as in the online storeYoox. The price of jewelry will range from $45 - $3500.

For Iris Apfel, art is the highest degree of self-expression. She is a person, an individual. She is not afraid of herself, not afraid to be herself, while most strive to be “like everyone else.” Iris loves jeans and bracelets, massive jewelry that is hard to stand in for more than 10 minutes, but she doesn’t look like a freak. Everything about this woman is harmonious and beautiful. What's the secret? In her youth. The one that plastic surgeons and magic pills cannot bestow. She is cheerful and happy, young in the true sense of the word - heart and soul.

More photos here:

Are you interested in fashion shows and biographies? famous designers? Then you must have heard at least a few words about Iris Apfel. The biography of this famous woman, who devoted her entire life to design and collecting, often appears on the main pages of magazines and newspapers. Large glasses and bright outfits make her recognizable even at a respectable age. She is already 95 years old, but this lady does not even think about peace, doing her favorite things all day long. The story about Iris Apfel should begin in the 20s of the last century.

early years

The future fashion diva was born into the Burrell family. Her mother is Jewish and has Russian roots, which Iris Apfel herself often mentions. In many ways, it was her mother who influenced her career. She ran a small fashion boutique, and her father sold mirrors. By the way, he also contributed a certain percentage to his daughter’s success, thanks to his connections with famous American fashion designers.

Iris Apfel's childhood was not spent in the richest areas of New York. From the age of 12, the girl developed an interest in various accessories and clothes. In some ways you can see the influence of the mother, who could not live without new clothes. My father, on the contrary, did not like to waste time on long fittings, buying the first suit that caught his eye. Iris Apfel was an overweight child, which is why she often faced ridicule from teenagers. Cigarettes helped me lose weight, as Iris herself admitted. I smoked a lot, but quit when I realized that I was starting to depend on nicotine.

First steps

She attended classes at an art school and studied art history. Already at the age of 19, she began writing advertisements in the Women’s Wear Daily newspaper, which at that time was the most authoritative in New York. However, the girl was not interested in this activity for long. Then she worked together with Bob Goodman, a famous US illustrator. Soon Iris Apfel became interested in interior design. My father, who had famous acquaintances, helped me get comfortable in this area.

Husband

Designer Iris Apfel met her future husband in 1948, when she was 27 years old. They met at one of the New York resorts. Karl Apfel fell in love with a bright girl, which he told her in a telephone conversation a few weeks later. After 4 months, the young man proposed to the girl.

Fashion designer Iris Apfel always speaks very warmly about her husband, with whom she lived in perfect harmony (he died in 2015). The heroine of our article has no children. The fashion diva explains their absence by the lack of time for her personal life due to the fact that all her energy was spent on building a career.

Career

For some time, Iris Apfel worked as an interior designer. One day she was selecting wall paneling. Looking through a huge variety of options, she realized that she had found her calling - a textile designer. She was able to bring her plans to life thanks to the Old World Weavers company, which she founded together with her husband in the 50s. The company grew very quickly, gained weight in the world market, eventually becoming one of the most popular in this area. The company's looms restored and reproduced ancient fabrics. The products were in demand among large organizations, famous designers, collectors, and aristocrats.

Iris Apfel's jewelry became recognizable all over the world, and she finally felt happy. Old World Weavers, by the way, still exist today. True, other people are running the company. In the early 90s, the couple sold their brainchild, but Apfel remained with him as a consultant. She doesn't regret the sale.

The fashion diva also worked on major interior restoration projects at the White House.

Exhibitions

Iris Apfel boasts an impressive collection of accessories. Until 2005, the designer could not even think that anyone would be interested in them. She was doing her favorite job when suddenly she was asked for some accessories for an exhibition. The curators were amazed when they saw Iris's huge collection. It became clear that a couple of things could not be done. A separate exhibition was soon organized, in which Apfel's wardrobe was the focus. The exhibition was a huge success.

It is surprising that the designer treats his exclusive outfits as the most ordinary things. On a weekday it can surprise bright dress or a suit. Iris is often called "The Rare Bird of Fashion."

In 2009, another exhibition took place, which was held by the Costume Institute. The exhibition was awarded to Apfel's best outfits. By the way, only Yves Saint Laurent was awarded such an honor in the 80s of the last century. Viewers were able to see more than 80 costumes and 300 of the designer's best accessories, which she collected around the world.

House

Our heroine's apartment, located in New York, looks more like some kind of palace. The walls are hung with paintings and many mirrors in gold frames. There are figurines and Venetian chairs everywhere. Iris doesn't like minimalism. She likes exuberance and texture. That is why the apartment resembles a palace from the time of Louis XV, when there was not a single free meter in the premises. There are a lot of things here from different countries and even eras. Iris brought everything from her travels around the world.

Style

Apfel never adhered to any boundaries when buying clothes. She can be called the oldest teenager in the world. She did not acquire accessories and outfits with the goal of collecting the best collection in the world. For her it was excitement. She wasn't so attracted to easy purchase clothes, as much as searching for the perfect combination in the details.

The designer does not consider himself a collector. Every accessory, every outfit does not lie idle. Huge glasses, beads, bracelets - these are the irreplaceable features of Mrs. Apfel's style. She doesn't pursue fashion trends, does not buy expensive, unnecessary jewelry. She herself combines elements of outfits, resulting in exquisite, original costumes. Iris has repeatedly surprised others with her extravagant style. She is an example of exquisite taste, which borders on bad taste, but does not cross this line. It is difficult to find someone who could repeat something like this.

About Russia

As mentioned above, Iris Apfel has Russian roots on her mother’s side. The fashion designer has always been admired by our girls. In the 50s she visited Sochi and Odessa. Later I remembered poverty, strict border controls and the beauty of Russian women. He wants to visit Russia again, now Moscow.

Today

Despite her advanced age, Iris Apfel continues to do what she loves, travels, appears in commercials and participates in various projects. In 2011, she compiled a collection of cosmetics for MAC. Fame at a respectful age has not blinded her; she still observes everything around her with intelligence and interest. Iris doesn’t like street fashion and deliberate shocking, but she has a positive attitude towards it. In 2012, the designer taught classes at one of the universities in Texas. In 2013, she was included in the list of the most fashionable women who are already over fifty.