Tributes poured in on Friday for fashion expert and self-proclaimed “geriatric star” Iris Apfel, who has died aged 102.
The news was announced on her Instagram on Friday, with a beautiful photo of the famous fashionista in a regal black and gold dress and her signature black sunglasses.
“Iris Barrel Apfel, August 29, 1921 – March 1, 2024,” the post’s caption read.
Numerous celebrities shared their warm testimonials about Iris, who spent her final years as a style icon in New York City.
Rocker Lenny Kravitz wrote: ‘You have mastered the art of living. Thank you for your energy and inspiration.’
Lenny Kravitz led the celebrity tributes to ‘You Mastered the Art of Living’ and: ‘Thank you for your energy and inspiration.’
Tributes poured in on Friday for fashion expert and self-proclaimed “geriatric star” Iris, who died aged 102.
‘Iris Barrel Apfel, August 29, 1921 – March 1, 2024,’ read the title of the post.
Maria Shriver wrote: ‘Wow! What an extraordinary life #IrisApfel lived. She really did it all: she was a businesswoman, she was a model, she was a fashion icon, she was a college professor, she was the star of a documentary, she was a Barbie doll! Iris is true proof that age is just a number.
Actress Hannah Waddingham also paid tribute, writing: ‘Ohhhhhh. Good night and God bless you madam. What infinite joy and style you brought to so many people!’
‘Rest in power!’ gushed plus-size model Tess Holliday. “Thank you for living your life so beautifully and inspiring many of us to live bravely.”
A spokesperson for his estate confirmed the news to New York Times and revealed that he died at his home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Amid the flood of enthusiastic messages from the celebrities, fans rushed to their social media page to pay their respects.
“Thank you for sharing your beautiful life,” added designer Jenna Lyons.
“RIP icon,” one person wrote.
“We’ll miss you,” another added with a red heart emoji.
“An icon and a true inspiration,” wrote another follower.
‘Rest in the icon of beauty.’
Apfel only came to global attention in 2005, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art showed an exhibition focused on her fashion sense titled Rara Avis (Rare Bird).
‘Rest in power!’ Plus-size model Tess Holliday gushed, “Thank you for living your life so beautifully and inspiring so many of us to live bravely.”
‘Iris Barrel Apfel, August 29, 1921 – March 1, 2024,’ the photo caption read; seen with Linda Fargo in 2013
A spokesperson for her estate confirmed the news to the New York Times and revealed that she died at her home in Palm Beach, Florida; seen in 2015
The cause of death has not been provided at this time; seen with Christie Brinkley in 2022
Apfel, who was a New York style icon for years, only came to global attention in 2005, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art showed an exhibition focused on her fashion sense titled Rara Avis (Rare Bird); seen with Christina Hendricks in 2016
In 2019, at age 97, Iris landed a modeling contract with IMG, the same agency that has represented major stars like Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss, and Miranda Kerr; seen in 2016
She has faced campaigns for Kate Spade, MAC Cosmetics, Alexis Bittar, Macy’s INC, Blue Illusion, HSN, Le Bon Marché and the German brand Aigner; seen with Christina Ricci and Zosia Mamet
Iris Apfel (born Iris Barrel) was born on August 29, 1921 in Astoria, Queens, New York, the only child of Samuel Barrel and his Russian-born wife, Sadye Barrel.
She began her career as a writer for Women’s Wear Daily and interior designer Elinor Johnson.
In 1948 she married her husband Carl Apfel and the duo owned a textile company until they retired 44 years later.
Over the years, the couple worked on many restoration projects, including at the White House.
Carl died at the age of 100 in 2015.
In 2019, at age 97, Iris landed a modeling contract with IMG, the same agency that has represented major stars like Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss, and Miranda Kerr.
Even when it was close to 100, Apfel showed no signs of slowing down and told World Water Day is “very excited” about her new deal.
Although the star did draw the line walking down the runway and told the publication: ‘How can I compete on the runway? That’s ridiculous,’ she said.
‘Hopefully we’ll do collaborations, or maybe I’ll be a spokesperson. He left it to them. They know it better than me.
‘I’ve had all sorts of interesting assignments in my limited career. Everything from vodka and cars to beauty products, and I’ve also had several interesting collaborations with big box stores like Bon Marché in Paris, Landmark Mall in Hong Kong, Macy’s and Bergdorf Goodman.’
She began her career as a writer for Women’s Wear Daily and interior designer Elinor Johnson; seen in a throwback Instagram photo
In 1948 she married her husband Carl Apfel and they both owned a textile company until they retired 44 years later.
Over the years, the couple worked on many restoration projects, including at the White House; the couple seen in 2008
Carl died at the age of 100 in 2015; seen in 2008
Over the last decade, Apfel has modeled for a truly impressive list of renowned fashion and beauty brands.
She has faced campaigns for Kate Spade, MAC Cosmetics, Alexis Bittar, Macy’s INC, Blue Illusion, HSN, Le Bon Marché and the German brand Aigner.
In each one, she showed off a facet of her style, including her signature oversized round glasses.
On several occasions, she has posed alongside models a quarter of her age, including Karlie, Toni Garnn, Tavi Gevinson and Jourdan Dunn.
She previously gave her opinion on the style, telling Women’s Wear Daily: “I don’t think the style has any age.” It’s in your DNA and it’s inherent. It is a question of attitude.’
No one was more surprised by her modeling career in the last years of her life than Apfel herself. Although she has had a long career in the fashion world, she owned her own textile company, Old World Weavers, from 1950, which kept her in the fashion world.
‘I never expected that my life would take this turn, so I never prepared myself for it. “It all happened so suddenly, and I thought that at my tender age, I wasn’t going to set up offices and get involved in all kinds of things,” she said.
“I thought it was a temporary thing and it wasn’t going to last. Somehow, people found me. People would just call. Tommy Hilfiger said that was no way to do it and brought us together. I’m very excited and very grateful.”
In addition to modeling, she also designed her own clothing and accessories line for HSN and published a book in 2018.
“My husband, until he passed away, we used to sit there and laugh and laugh, and I would say I’m no different than I was 70 years ago, and all of a sudden, I’m fine, I’m property hot. It’s ridiculous. People tell me which is because I am real… and they say what I think,” he added.
In 2016, she gave some advice to young entrepreneurs at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day conference at the United Nations.
‘Taking advantage of opportunities and running is very important, because I never had a business plan in my life. Things just appeared and I grabbed them,’ he told them.
“I’m glad to see all these glass ceilings being broken and I know I feel like if women were a little bit more assertive and stuck to it, there wouldn’t be as much of this feeling,” she added.
‘I know that when I started, dinosaurs roamed the Earth, I’m 95 years old and I’ve worked all my life. “It wasn’t easy, but if you really want to do it, you can do it.”