Iris Apfel: Colorful: A Treasure Trove of Inspiration, Influences, and Ideas

Fashion icon Iris Apfel shares her philosophy for living, unique perspective on design, and the key moments that have shaped her life, along with 300 photographs from her personal collection

Iris Apfel is no stranger to bold colors, patterns, and designs­-anyone can tell you that. But what is the color of happiness? Well, at 102 years old, she knows a thing or two about living well, and she's ready to share her design doctrine, greatest inspirations, and life story.

A one-of-a-kind tome of technicolor design, this book is a treasure trove of ideas for creative minds. Weaving in personal stories with her theories on using color, sparking imagination, and finding happiness, Apfel's words dance across the pages, just like the jazz music she loves so dearly. She shares stories about her Russian-Jewish immigrant family, growing up an only child in New York City, falling in love with her husband, Carl, getting Duke Ellington's help on a class assignment, and her many other incredible influences and lifelong friends. Apfel also ruminates on role models, speaks about her family, her education, and her cherished life lessons and experiences--all with her signature, witty one-liners.

Apfel's authenticity, humor, and zest for life are on full display. With snapshots of her childhood, family, friends, and herself, Colorful is a comprehensive collection and reflection of her most important moments.

Author: Iris Apfel
Publisher: Abrams Books
Published: 08/20/2024
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781419776601

About the Author
Iris Apfel is the renowned American businesswoman, interior designer, fashion icon, and a prolific collector of and authority on antique textiles. In 1950, she, with her husband, Carl, founded Old World Weavers, an international textile manufacturing company specializing in reproducing antique fabrics. She was a consultant to the White House for nine presidential administrations and produced fabric that still hangs in the Gold Room today. In 2005, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art staged Rara Avis, a blockbuster exhibit of her clothing and accessories, making her the first living person who was not a fashion designer to be so honored. In 2014, she was the subject of director Albert Maysles's award-winning film, Iris. An associate professor at the University of Texas, she is the recipient of numerous awards, including a special award from the Women Together Foundation at the United Nations for her lifelong dedication and support of artisans around the world. In 2018, at the age of 96, she was the oldest person to be turned into a Barbie doll. In 2023, at the age of 102, Iris wrote Colorful, to be published on her 103rd birthday (ABRAMS, 2024).