Iris Apfel passed away on March 1st, 2024 at 102 years old. In 2019, Hospitality Design interviewed her about her collection with glassware brand Nude.
Draped in her iconic statement necklaces and grand black-rimmed glasses, Iris Apfel has more than earned her status as a fashion and design legend. Yet, at 97, she’s still finding new ways to put her signature whimsical stamp on the world.
Her latest adventure is three collections of vases and accessories with Istanbul-based glassware brand Nude. “I have never done glassware before, and I liked their products,” the outspoken designer says. The collaboration is a coming home of sorts for Apfel: She was born in Queens, New York to a father who worked in his family’s glass and mirror business and a mother who owned a fashion boutique.
Nude x Iris Apfel Beak Set
In the years in between, she would attend New York University and the University of Wisconsin, work for the long-running trade journal Women’s Wear Daily, start textile firm Old World Weavers with her husband, and carry out design restoration projects at the White House for nine presidents, from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton.
“I learned as I went along,” she explains. “Everything [you do] affects everything else. Nothing exists in a vacuum.” In 2014, the documentary Iris celebrated the life of the spirited style maven, solidifying her celebrity status.
Now, she’s putting her indelible mark on the products for Nude. “I love to improvise. I love to take something and play with it and roll it around and see it from different perspectives,” Apfel says.
The Beak collection offers acid bright colors in bold stripes, while the Mono Box vases are a cacophony of vibrant colors in patterns ranging from checkerboard to nature-inspired. In a cheeky nod to her trademark look, the Iris Apfel Paperweights are crafted in her unmistakable likeness, complete with huge eyeglasses, red lipstick, and a bold necklace.
As she looks back, Apfel sees a different industry than the one she started out in. “There are too many rules,” too many similarities, and too many trends, she explains. “I don’t think young people today undertake apprenticeships as they did years ago. You have to learn who you are, what your aesthetic is, and how you feel about things. You can’t just jump from trend to trend and copy what is around you. You have to be true to yourself.”
This article originally appeared in HD’s February 2019 issue.
