Apfel's late-in-life emergence as a stylemaker was celebrated in magazines and museums. Her company made reproduction fabrics for the White House for decades. She became a fashion model at 97.
If only every life could be as lavishly lived as Iris Apfel's. The celebrated interior designer, entrepreneur and late-in-life fashion model died in Palm Beach on Friday, her representatives confirmed. She was 102 years old.
Born Iris Barrel in 1921, she was brought up in Queens, New York. The daughter of a successful small business owner, she studied art and art history before working as a copywriter forWith her husband Carl, Apfel started a textile and fabric reproduction business in 1950. Her firm managed White House restoration projects for nine presidents, ranging from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton.
Apfel's star only brightened as she aged. At 90, she was teaching at the University of Texas at Austin. At age 94, she was the subject of a well-reviewed documentary by Albert Maysles (, Kate Spade and M.A.C, and the time of her passing, was the oldest person to have had a Barbie doll made by Mattel in her image., Apfel told correspondent Ina Jaffe that she took pride in having inspired people over the years. She remembered meeting one woman who exclaimed that Apfel had changed her life.
"She became a beacon for so many people," jewelry designer Alexis Bittar said in a statement shared by Sale."Through living her life on her own terms it messaged to women that they don't need to hide in the shadows as they age, they actually can continue to glow and get better at what they do and look like.
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