Founder of Old World Weavers Designer Doyenne Iris Apfel Has Died at 102

https://www.vogue.com/article/iris-apfel-obituary

Ahead of her time or his time in too many ways.

She has good taste in man, in design, in food and at last, probably of least importance,  in fashion.

On relationship and diet: “Apfel responds: “And I figured he was cool, and he was cuddly, and he cooked Chinese, so I couldn’t do any better.” (Above is also a lesson of fitness and health.)

On fakery and loss of authentic craftsmanship: We see her lambasting modern designers (“They don’t sew, they don’t drape, they’re media freaks”).

Aging or ageism: In 2019, aged 97, she landed a modelling contract with IMG. “I’m very excited. I never had a proper agent.”

On Slow Fashion (and Slow Home Deco): “I still wear the dress that I wore on my first date with my husband and that was 68 years ago. I get a lot of mileage out of my clothes,” she told Vanity Fair in 2015. Good quality and good taste are forever. (I never buy anything from fast fashion brands. I’d rather wear something old, with holes, faded, used but in good quality. )

On frugality and resourcefulness: “Another time, her mother gave her $25 to buy an outfit for the Easter Parade. “I bought a beautiful silk dress in pale peach, a straw hat, and a pair of pumps, and I still had money left for coffee and lunch,” she told The Guardian.

She built a great business with her husband for 55 years and started a 2nd career  in her 90s.

Thank you for giving us Old World Weavers and an inspiring life.

Your legend is a proof that America was, is and still can be a great country where one can get Russian immigrant, Italian Silk, Chinese food, American agent and some more, all within two blocks of NYC, where all the Old World Weavers of Seven Continents and Seven Seas come together to weave something new.

Why Drapery in Silk is a League of its Own

Because it catches light like no other fibers.

Because it reflects the colors in light with a higher level of saturation. Yes, you’ve seen red, pink, blue and green, but until you see red, pink, blue and green—-in 100% silk.

Even white and translucent—-look nicer in silk.

From House Beautiful, Sep 2015.