Photo: harpersbazaar.com

Her Life 

Apfel studied art history and went to art school as a young girl. She founded a textile company with her husband and signed another contract as a model at the age of 97. At the age of 100, she worked with H&M on a fashion collection. She also became the face of a new advertising campaign by the Citroën car brand. Her clothing style and fashion collection were the source of inspiration for a documentary and an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2005. According to this museum, Apfel was 'one of the most vibrant personalities in the world of fashion, textiles and interior design'.

Fashion 

Iris said, “I’ve loved fashion ever since I was a little girl. I always liked dressing up, and my mother was very chic. I recall one occasion when Easter was coming, and I didn’t have an outfit to wear for the big parade on Fifth Avenue. It was the height of the Great Depression, and my mother was too busy getting her business established to take me shopping, so instead she said, “I’ll give you 25 dollars”, which was a generous amount of money at that time, “and you can go into the city and get yourself an outfit – it’ll be good experience.””

Photo: independent.co.uk

Iris Apfel x H&M

In her campaign with H&M, At 100, she was still embracing uniqueness, wearing what makes her happy and encouraging everyone else to do the same. “I think part of the problem with the way people dress nowadays is that it’s too generic,” says Iris. “Everyone looks the same, they wear the same things. They wear what’s in fashion, what’s trendy, what they’re being told to wear. That’s terribly dull. I want to see personality.

Photo:hm.com

Iri’s Take on Jewelry

For me, jewellery is the most transformative part of a woman’s wardrobe – it can change the look of a whole outfit. You can take the same outfit right through from morning to cocktails simply by re-accessorizing. I especially love costume jewelry, because I think the artists who make it are freer in their approach. I’ve been collecting pieces since I was 11 years old, and I still have the first one I ever owned.