“One style doesn’t fit all”, Iris Apfel tells Ari Seth Cohen (Advanced Style) in this short film for The Avant/Garde Diaries.
91-year-old Iris isn’t afraid of the fashion police. She fell into the public eye at the ripe old age of 83 after The Met presented Rara Avis: The Irreverent Iris Apfel, an exhibition of her “more is more” wardrobe, and the only show the museum has ever hosted for a living woman. Rara Avis, means ‘Rare Bird’.
All the better to see you with, Iris’s sightly spectacles are her signature. In another interview with Cohen she said “I thought: if I’m going to wear glasses, I’m going to wear glasses”. With a 20/20 eye for colour and a soul for style, Iris is fashion’s answer to anyone who thinks there’s nothing in it. She’s wise even beyond her years and an inspiration to all who believe in growing old with grace. Watch and learn.
5 Facts About Iris Apfel
1. Iris’s husband of 64 years, Carl, wears big glasses too.
2. Iris can’t do any work dressed up, she has to put on jeans to get things done.
3. Iris started out as a copy writer for Women’s Wear Daily.
4. Iris’s mother owned a fashion boutique.
5. The first thing Iris does when she wakes up in the morning is thank God.
Read i-D online’s interview with Ari Seth Cohen about his book Advanced Style here.
Text: Sarah Raphael
Photography: Fridolin Schoepper
