100 YEARS OF IRIS

Paying tribute to the grande dame of fashion as she celebrates the launch of a stylish new venture.

- ABID HAQUE

"If somebody told me 10 years ago I'd be doing this, I would have laughed and said, 'You're nuts!"," says Iris Apfel, when we meet on the set of Bazaar's photoshoot at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. The international style icon, who celebrated her 100th birthday last August, is a fervent believer in the power of serendipity. "I don't have plans; I make it a point. I've never had a business plan... Things just happen, and I try to take advantage of them if I think they're worthwhile. If something comes along and I like it, I'll do it."

Hence, her unusually varied career path: Iris first cut her teeth as a copywriter at Women's Wear Daily, before taking a role as assistant to the interior designer Elinor Johnson. She married Carl Apfel, the love of her life, in 1948, and two years later, they launched a textile firm together, Old World Weavers. Their work, which included restoration projects at the White House for nine successive US presidents, saw them travel the globe in search of unique and rare pieces an experience to which Iris partly attributes her varied sense of style.