i am sassa

Iris Apfel is a 99 year-old fashion icon. She was obsessed with fabric as a kid. Her mom owned a fashion boutique, and her dad’s family owned a glass and mirror business, so I’m pretty sure her fascination with playing dress-up was in the stars.

Iris went to school for art and art history, and became an interior designer. She ran a textile company called Old World Weavers with her late husband Carl for over forty years, and did design work at the White House for nine presidents. She’s always collected jewelry and interesting clothing, but she says her status as a fashionista was something of an accident.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute held an exhibition of Iris’s outfits called Rara Avis (Rare Bird) in 2005. Iris was 84 years old at the time, and credits the show for turning her into a “geriatric starlet”. The show was the first time the museum had ever exhibited a fashion lover’s personal wardrobe choices. Afterward, MAC cosmetics released an Iris Apfel line, and she became the oldest person to have a Barbie made in her image.

Iris says that to her, age means nothing. While a lot of people say these words, one look at her life will tell you she really means it. She was a visiting professor at age 90, and signed a modeling contract with IMG at 97. She credits the pandemic for forcing her to take a vacation from work, but you can hear plenty from her by following her Instagram feed, which is one of the most uplifting and authentic things I’ve ever seen.

I am so happy to have learned about this woman today. Painting her was an absolute joy, and listening to her speak gave me a rosier shade of glasses than I had before. I’m going to go put on every piece of jewelry I own now.

Thank you, Iris Apfel.