Obituary: Fashion icon Iris Apfel dies at home in Palm Beach; she was 102

Iris Apfel, a designer whose trademark oversize glasses and eclectic style sense helped to make her a fashion icon, died Friday at her home in Palm Beach. The "geriatric starlet," as she once described herself, was 102.

The announcement of her death was made Friday night on her Instagram account, which said simply: "Iris Barrel Apfel, August 29, 1921-March 1, 2024."

Born Aug. 29, 1921, in the Queens borough of New York, she was the only child of Samuel Barrel, who owned a glass and mirror business and Sadye (nee Asofsky) Barrel, known as Syd.

Mrs. Apfel inherited her fashion sense from her mother, who ran a clothing boutique and had a penchant for flowing caftans and oversized accessories. Mrs. Apfel's longevity, too, was genetic. Syd Barrel died at the age of 100.

Her fashion adventures began when she was old enough to ride the subway. She would pay five cents for the ride into Manhattan, where she would comb the thrift shops, antique stores and flea markets everywhere from Chinatown to Harlem.

She graduated with a degree in art history from New York University. She later got a degree in art education from the University of Wisconsin.

She loved fashion, and wanted to be on the editorial side of the business, so she got her first job as a copy girl at Women's Wear Daily. "I started so low, at $15 a week," she told an audience at The Colony Hotel in 2013.

Eventually, Mrs. Apfel said, she realized that many female editors were "too young to die and too old to get pregnant," so she left the job and got married.

She once confided to a dinner companion that the instant she met Carl Apfel, "I knew that he was the man I was going to marry." She and Carl were married from 1948 until his death in 2015. They had no children.

With Carl, she entered the decorating business, starting Old World Weavers, a venerable fabric house, in the early 1970s. Mrs. Apfel worked on decorating the White House through the terms of nine presidents, starting with Harry Truman.

The would later sell that company to Stark Carpets, owned by Palm Beach residents John and Andrea Stark. They became close friends.

"It was a great company," Andrea Stark said. "Iris and Carl worked with us and taught us the fabric business."

"She was our kids' 'other grandma,'" Stark continued. "She walked my children down the aisle. So many holidays and dinners together. I loved her. She showed us to embrace being ourselves."

What Mrs. Apfel loved most about her job as a designer was the traveling — to France, Italy, North Africa and the Middle East. "Things were less homogenized then," she told the 2013 gathering at The Colony Hotel. "Traveling is not as interesting now as it was."

The travel allowed her to begin collecting objects, artifacts, jewelry and accessories and clothing for herself. "I'm a curious cat," Mrs. Apfel said. "I like to sniff around for things."

Esther Perlman, volunteer chair for marketing at Dress for Success Palm Beaches — a charity that seeks to provide long-lasting solutions to help women break the cycle of poverty — said “Iris put the Energizer Bunny to shame! And as petite as she was, she was larger than life.

"When I asked her to accept our first-ever Dress for Success Palm Beaches Style Icon award in 2019, she didn’t hesitate, and then I expected to be shuffled off to coordinate with a PA or PR person. She managed all the details herself."

Perlman added that she once "was exceptionally lucky" to be invited to Mrs. Apfel's Palm Beach apartment, which, though it was March, "was heavily decorated for Christmas because she loved to be surrounded by that décor 365! What a hoot she was — a brilliant, singular brand!"

Mrs. Apfel became a celebrity in her 80s after a 2005 exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute celebrated her personal style.

Tributes to the icon were quick to pour in from the worlds of fashion and entertainment.

Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger — fashion designer, creative director, Palm Beach resident and wife of fellow designer Tommy Hilfiger — said Mrs. Apfel was the real deal.

"I was so incredibly blessed to have spent the time I had with Iris and am devastated today to hear the news of her passing," she wrote in an Instagram post where she shared photos of herself, her husband and Mrs. Apfel through the years. "Iris was truly inspirational and taught me so many things. ... Her impact on my life will remain forever and I can only hope one day, I will be as engaged and insightful at 102 years old!"

Tommy Hilfiger also saluted Apfel's memory.

"My wife Dee and I were incredibly blessed to have met and spend time with Iris in the last few years both in Palm Beach and New York. She was an absolute inspiration and had impeccable style as well as a great appetite and appreciation for everything fashion," Hilfiger wrote in a statement to the Daily News. "She had an incredible presence and aura and always held court wherever she was.

"We were also honored to participate in her mentoring programs she headed for many years with fashion students from the University of Texas at Austin. She will be greatly missed, and it is a huge loss for the entire fashion community."

Some of the names among the 82,000 comments on the Instagram post announcing Mrs. Apfel's death: rock star Lenny Kravitz, and actors Hannah Waddingham and Bernadette Peters.

"You mastered the art of living," Kravitz wrote. "Thank you for your energy and inspiration."

In Palm Beach, Apfel was a familiar face throughout each season, appearing at numerous philanthropic events supporting a variety of causes. In 2022, she designed the surfboard Christmas tree at The Royal Poinciana Plaza, bringing her unique vision with bright colors and embellishments.

"Iris was a pioneer of fashion, entrepreneurship, and female empowerment," said Lori Berg, the plaza's general manager. "Her legacy will remain forever and we’re so grateful to have a piece of her history here with us at The Royal. It was an honor to be a small part of her world."

Locally, she was a benefactor of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the Norton Museum of Art and the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, where she forged a friendship with board chair Frances Fisher.

"If you want to learn how to live a great life, take a lesson from Iris," Fisher wrote in a statement released by the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens.

"At 102 and a half, Iris experienced and inspired more than most people could ever imagine because she made the most of her life each day. There was always time with genuine friends, a clever but happy outlook on all of her business endeavors, and a joy about how life is best lived which she wrote and spoke about often. To say Iris was a woman ahead of her time is an understatement. She was all that and more.

"How incredibly blessed we were to know Iris, and we will dearly miss her."

Sarah Wetenhall, owner and CEO of The Colony, noted that Apfel was also inspirational as a model to women.

"Iris was a fashion icon, yes, but to the world — and particularly to women — she was much more than a fashion industry leader.  Iris was a model of fearlessness in changing times. Throughout the decades she reinvented herself, taking risks and continuously pivoting to break both style, gender and age barriers — all while doing so with grace and joie de vivre.

"As a female business leader, and a mother of young girls, I am forever grateful to Iris for the path that she paved," Wetenhall wrote in a statement to the Daily News.

"Her life was well-lived and well-loved; the world, in particular Palm Beach, is a brighter and better place because of Iris Apfel. She will be missed."

Services are expected to take place in both New York and Palm Beach on dates to be announced.

Staff writer Jodie Wagner contributed to this story.

This is a breaking story. It will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Fashion icon Iris Apfel dies at home in Palm Beach; she was 102