The big glasses were her trademark. Iris Apfel from New York was a businesswoman, interior designer and, most recently, a model. Born in 1921, she grew up as an only child in the borough of Queens and showed a good sense of fashion at an early age. At the age of twelve, she went to Manhattan alone to buy something nice to wear. After studying art history, she gained her first professional experience in various creative areas. She and her husband Carl Apfel then went on to found the textile and design company Old World Weavers. The couple furnish the apartments of New York’s high society and have been entrusted with the interior design of the White House by a total of nine presidents over the years. The two of them find inspiration mainly abroad. In addition to expensive fabrics, Iris Apfel prefers to bring clothes, jewellery and glasses home with her from her travels. A habit that made her famous overnight in 2005 when the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated an exhibition to her wardrobe. The outfits shown from her private wardrobe combine haute couture with flea market finds and make her an international style icon. Her husband died in 2015 after 67 years of marriage. Four years later, Iris Apfel signed her first modelling contract at the age of 97. She died on March 1, 2024 at the age of 102. Throughout her life Iris Apfel has proven that a sense of style is not a question of age.