1. Iris Apfel was an American businesswoman, interior designer, and fashion designer, known for her flamboyant style, outspoken personality and oversized eyeglasses.
16 Facts About Iris Apfel
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In business with her husband, Carl, from 1950 to 1992, Apfel had a career in textiles, including a contract with the White House that spanned nine presidencies.
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Iris Apfel became a fashion icon, was the focus of the 2014 Albert Maysles documentary Iris, then signed to IMG in 2019 as a model at age 97.
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Iris Apfel studied art history at New York University and attended art school at the University of Wisconsin.
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Over her career, Iris Apfel took part in a variety of design restoration projects, including work at the White House for nine presidents: Harry S Truman, Dwight D Eisenhower, John F Kennedy, Lyndon B Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.
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Iris Apfel found the White House contract to be among the easiest of Old World Weavers' clients, as they generally wanted only to replicate what had previously been in place.
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In 2011, Iris Apfel became a visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin in its Division of Textiles and Apparel.
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In March 2016, Iris Apfel announced a collaboration with technology startup WiseWear on an upcoming line of smart jewelry.
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Iris Apfel died at her home in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 1,2024, at the age of 102.
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On September 13,2005, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City premiered the exhibition Rara Avis [Rare Bird]: The Irreverent Iris Apfel, showcasing her style.
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Iris Apfel was interviewed in Advanced Style Film: Featurette, released in September 2014.
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Iris Apfel was featured in the 2017 documentary If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast.
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In 2018, Mattel created a Barbie doll in Iris Apfel's image, making her the oldest person to ever have a Barbie made in her image and the recipient of the highest honor the Barbie brand bestows.
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Iris Apfel was awarded the Women Together Special Award of the Year at the 12th Annual Women Together Gala held at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City, on June 7,2016.
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In November 2016, Iris Apfel was awarded the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Award for her work in the fashion field at the United Nations in New York City.
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Iris Apfel was honored as The New Jewish Home's Eight over Eighty Gala 2017 honoree.