Rare Bird of Fashion

S: When I found out Iris Apfel heads up the UT at NYC textiles and apparel program, I was overjoyed. I had read about her for years. Check out her amazing apartment here.

On why she is working with UT and not a New York university:

Various New York schools of fashion and design had tried to involve Apfel over the years, but they seemed most interested in fundraising. With UT, she felt a click. “Other schools don’t seem to be as interested in their students,” she says. “You guys just knock yourselves out for them.”

Apfel on herself:

She calls herself a “geriatric starlet,” more famous now than in youth or even middle age. It started with the Met show and snowballed from there. “The whole thing is so ridiculous because I’m not doing anything differently than I have for the last 70 years,” she says. “My overnight took seven decades. Sometimes it’s just the right time for things.” 

(Image and quotes via The Alcalde)