Iris Apfel

Iris Apfel (1921–2024) was an American businesswoman, interior designer, textile collector and fashion icon. In 1950, she and her husband, Carl, founded the textile company Old World Weavers, which specialized in reproducing antique fabrics. She also became known for her extravagant style and for designing jewelry, accessories, textiles and furniture. In 2005, the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York devoted the exhibition “Rara Avis” to her; she was the first living person who was not a fashion designer to receive this distinction. Her life and work were the subject of Albert Maysles’s Emmy-nominated 2014 documentary film “Iris”.