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American fashion icon, model and interior designer Iris Apfel has died at the age of 102. This was announced on her Instagram page. Apfel became known especially in her old age for her exuberant clothing style. Her motto was “dare to be different!”.
Apfel studied art history and went to art school. She founded a textile company with her husband and signed a contract as a photo model at the age of 97. At the age of 100, the self-described “geriatric star” from Queens collaborated with H&M on a fashion collection. She became the face of a new Citroën advertising campaign. With 2.9 million followers on Instagram, the centenarian was often present at the presentations of the major designers.
Her clothing style and fashion collection inspired a documentary and an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2005. According to the museum, Apfel was “one of the most vibrant personalities in the world of fashion, textiles and interior design”.
Iris Apfel on the red carpet in 2021. — © AFP
Iris Apfel as hostess of the ‘Moshino dinner’ in 2006. — © Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Iris Apfel during the Calvin Klein fashion show in New York in 2017. — © AFP
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