A former interior designer, she opened her closet for an exhibit at the Met and became an instant icon.
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Iris Apfel, the fashion icon recognizable for her oversized glasses and wild sartorial style, died at home in Palm Beach at the age of 102, The New York Times reported. A former interior designer, Apfel shot to fame in her 80s after the Metropolitan Museum of Art created a show around her colorful, eclectic, never-boring wardrobe. She modeled, sat in the front row at fashion shows, sold jewelry and scarves on the Home Shopping Network, collaborated with Ruggable, and became the subject of a documentary. “Oh it’s very surprising to me. I can’t get over it, I still don’t believe it,” Apfel told The Daily Beast in 2015 about her late-blooming celebrity. “I went to Brazil last year, and all these kids were jumping all over me at the airport. I couldn’t believe it. And they photographed me for Vogue and all kinds of stuff. I mean they carry on with me like I invented penicillin.”
