Iris Apfel, renowned fashion designer and style icon, dies aged 102

Iris Apfel, a textile expert, interior designer and fashion celebrity known for her eccentric style, has died aged 102.

Her death was confirmed by her agent, Lori Sale, who called Apfel “extraordinary.”

Born August 29, 1921, Apfel was famous for her irreverent, eye-catching outfits, mixing haute couture and oversized costume jewelry.

A classic Apfel look would, for instance, pair a feather boa with strands of chunky beads, bangles and a jacket decorated with Native American beadwork.

With her big, round, black-rimmed glasses, bright red lipstick and short white hair, she stood out at every fashion show she attended.

Apfel enjoyed late-in-life fame on social media, amassing nearly 3 million followers on Instagram, where her profile declares: “More is more & Less is a Bore.”

On TikTok, she drew 215,000 followers as she waxed wise on things fashion and style and promoted recent collaborations.

“Being stylish and being fashionable are two entirely different things," she said in one TikTok video. “You can easily buy your way into being fashionable. Style, I think is in your DNA. It implies originality and courage.”

She never retired, telling “Today”: "I think retiring at any age is a fate worse than death. Just because a number comes up doesn’t mean you have to stop.”

She and her husband Carl owned a textile manufacturing company, Old World Weavers, and specialised in restoration work, including projects at the White House under six different US presidents. Apfel’s celebrity clients included Estee Lauder and Greta Garbo.

Apfel’s fame blew up in 2005 when the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City hosted a show about her called “Rara Avis,” Latin for “rare bird.” The museum described her style as “both witty and exuberantly idiosyncratic.

Apfel’s husband died in 2015. They had no children.

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