She (born August 29, 1921) is an American interior designer and fashion icon who has studied art history at New York University and attended art school at the University of Wisconsin. In 1948, she married Carl Apfel. Two years later they launched the textile firm Old World Weavers and ran it until they retired in 1992. During this time, Iris Apfel took part in several design restoration projects, including work at the White House for nine presidents: Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Reagan, and Clinton.
In 2005, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City premiered an exhibition about Apfel titled Rara Avis (Rare Bird): The Irreverent Iris Apfel. The exhibit's success prompted a traveling version of the exhibit, which included stops at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, the Nassau County Museum in Nassau County, New York, and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.
Here is a quotation from our fashion Icon regarding accessories : “For me the key to personal style lies in accessories. My friends tell me that my oversized glasses and my pairs of bracelets have become my unwritten signature. I have amassed an enormous ‘collection’ of bags, belts, bangles and beads without which I would be lost. One can change the entire look of an outfit by substituting one accessory for another. I love objects from different worlds, different eras, combined my way. Never uptight, achieving – hopefully – a kind of throwaway chic.” Iris Apfel.
Apfel still consults and lectures about style and other fashion topics.
