Iris Apfel in New York City in 2012.

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

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Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Iris Apfel in New York City in 2012.

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

If solely each life may very well be as lavishly lived as Iris Apfel’s. The celebrated inside designer, entrepreneur and late-in-life trend mannequin died in Palm Beach on Friday, her representatives confirmed. She was 102 years previous.

Born Iris Barrel in 1921, she was introduced up in Queens, New York. The daughter of a profitable small enterprise proprietor, she studied artwork and artwork historical past earlier than working as a copywriter for Women’s Wear Daily.

With her husband Carl, Apfel began a textile and material copy enterprise in 1950. Her agency managed White House restoration tasks for 9 presidents, starting from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton.

Known for her charisma and work ethic, Apfel’s distinctive model — the bushels of bracelets, the piles of necklaces, plus these signature saucer-sized, heavy-framed glasses – helped propel her into late-in-life trend superstar, or a “geriatric starlet,” as she typically referred to herself.

Apfel’s star solely brightened as she aged. At 90, she was instructing on the University of Texas at Austin. At age 94, she was the topic of a well-reviewed documentary by Albert Maysles (Iris.) At age 97, she turned an expert trend mannequin, represented by a high company, IMG. She modeled for Vogue Italia, Kate Spade and M.A.C, and the time of her passing, was the oldest particular person to have had a Barbie doll made by Mattel in her picture.

A society grand dame who was not above promoting scarves and jewellery on the Home Shopping Network, Apfel obtained a 2005 retrospective at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rara Avis (Rare Bird): The Irreverent Iris Apfel was a primary for the museum in showcasing garments and equipment created by a dwelling non-fashion designer.

Her autobiography, Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon, was revealed in 2018.

In a 2015 NPR story, Apfel advised correspondent Ina Jaffe that she took delight in having impressed folks through the years. She remembered assembly one girl who exclaimed that Apfel had modified her life.

“She said I learned that if I don’t have to dress like everybody else, I do not have to think like everybody else,” the designer recalled with glee. “And I thought, boy, if I could do that for a few people, I accomplished something.”

Her agent Lori Sale known as the designer a “visionary.”

“She saw the world through a unique lens – one adorned with giant, distinctive spectacles that sat atop her nose. Through those lenses, she saw the world as a kaleidoscope of color, a canvas of patterns and prints. Her artistic eye transformed the mundane into the extraordinary and her ability to blend the unconventional with the elegant was nothing short of magical,” she mentioned in an announcement.

“She became a beacon for so many people,” jewellery designer Alexis Bittar mentioned in an announcement 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.”