More than 200 items from Iris Apfel’s maximalist collection of art, fashion and statement jewellery were recently put up for auction. Photo composite: The New York Times
“It’s nice to see everyone dressed up as Iris tonight,” said Fern Mallis, the fashion industry stalwart.
She was at Christie’s to introduce the auction of the estate of Iris Apfel, the interior designer who became a later-in-life style icon in the internet age.
Apfel died last March at the age of 102. She and her husband, Carl, were together for 68 years. They founded Old World Weavers, which sold textiles that appeared in White House interiors from the time of President Harry Truman to President Bill Clinton’s.
Apfel also worked as an interior designer for clients that included Greta Garbo and Estee Lauder.
“She grew up on a farm in Queens and had to take a ferry to get to the city,” Mallis said.
“A 65 cent brooch was her first treasure accessory. And even at 100, she exuded the energy and confidence of someone half her age.”
Apfel was so known for her eclectic personal style, which combined flea market finds with haute couture, that the Metropolitan Museum of Art organised an exhibition of her wardrobe in 2005.
Read more: Iris Apfel, fashion icon known for her eye-catching style, dies at 102
In 2007, a coffee-table book, Rare Bird Of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel, followed.
When Iris, a documentary directed by Albert Maysles, came out in 2014, her place in fashion history was solidified.
Her fans were often young.
“I first found out about her from the documentary,” said Jalil Johnson, a 25-year-old fashion consultant who attended the party.
“I had a connection to her. It was not about her age and more about the feeling and her delicious point of view about getting dressed.”
Apfel left behind a large collection, spread between homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.
It included designer clothes, home objects and many of her signature accessories: giant bangle bracelets, chunky necklaces and, as Mallis put it, “the biggest eyeglasses ever made”.
The sale (which ended on Feb 13), "will benefit charitable causes near and dear to Iris”, Grace Smoker, a spokeswoman for the Iris Apfel estate, wrote in an email
The auction is about 200 lots, which Tash Perrin, the deputy chair at Christie’s, said was on the smaller side for the auction house. Nevertheless, it was a sale she pursued.
“I got in touch with her advisers and said, ‘You have got to give me an opportunity.’”
She described Apfel’s style as “unique, punchy and vibrant”.
“Her apartment in New York felt a bit like a time capsule with a bright turquoise kitchen,” Perrin said.
“There would be a fabulous piece of traditional furniture next to an array of animal figurines. She was a bon vivant.”
Iris Apfel was known for her huge eyeglasses. Photo: The New York Times
The sale included a polychrome painted dog bed with a grapevine trellis; a Dior couture coat with feathers in shades of black, green, brown and purple; and a life-size carved ostrich that doubled as a bar, affectionately named Gussy.
Some lots, like a selection of multicoloured bangles, had a low estimate of US$200 to US$300 (approximately RM890 to RM1,300) but, a week in (at the time of writing), already had more than 20 bids.
Some attendees had their portraits taken by the photographer Hunter Abrams in a sitting area decorated in the style of Apfel’s homes.
Others tried on owlish eyeglasses. Devon Fredericks, who works in the food world, scrolled on her phone to see what the estimate was for a lot of 40 Chinese ceramic fruits.
Marilyn Kirschner, a former Harper’s Bazaar fashion editor, showed up wearing a long red satin skirt covered in sequins and imprinted with an image of Apfel.
Read more: Nude sketches by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent to be sold at Paris auction
Alice + Olivia made the skirts, and Kirschner bought hers at Bergdorf Goodman.
“I think Iris and I shared a desire to not look like everyone else,” Kirschner said.
“I was the first person to interview her for the Met exhibition in 2005. I went to the show and contacted her. So I love having her face on my skirt. And there is another woman here wearing the same skirt.”
The woman she was referring to was Tinu Naija, a Nigerian fashion editor who was wearing the skirt along with jewellery from a collection that Apfel did with H&M.
“We met at Henri Bendel,” Naija said of Apfel. “I said, ‘I love what you’re wearing,’ and she said, ‘I love what you’re wearing, too.’”
Naija and Kirschner posed for a photo together.
Mallis asked the crowd to consider the legacy of Apfel.
“This is a reflection of a woman who has lived a life full of bold choices,” she said in her introductory remarks at the party.
“Raise a glass for a toast, and in true Iris style, we hope you’ll go shopping.” – ©2025 The New York Times Company
