According to one sad feminist theory, middle aged and elderly women “fade” into the background of patriarchal societies because, as their youth recedes, so too does their value as men’s sexual partners and breeders. (Urrgh!)
According to Iris Apfel’s theory: well, buggar that. (Though, she would never be so crude.)
The nonegenarian supermodel will never “fade” while her sassy personality and flamboyant wardrobe – soon to be front and centre of Blue Illusion’s autumn/winter campaign – continues to fascinate fashionistcrats across the world. Janice Breen Burns reports.
(First published in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.)
From Albert Mayle’s 2014 biographical film, Iris.
If women had more fun with fashion, they’d stress less about their appearance, says 94 year old American style icon Iris Apfel. “I don’t know what it’s like for women in Australia, but in America, they stress very badly about how they look and if, as they say, I give them courage to be creative, then that cheers me.”
The pin-up nonagenarian for New York’s Advanced Style phenomenon was recently signed to front Australian fashion brand Blue Illusion’s autumn/winter advertising campaign.
Apfel is renowned for her oversized spectacles and exotic wardrobe that have inspired authors, photographers, curators and fashionistocrats around the world. As one of fashion’s hottest stars, she is purported to inspire women, particularly “of a certain age”, to be less self-conscious about their so-called flaws and more extrovert about the way they dress.
“I’m not doing anything differently to the last 75 years but now, I’m hot!” Apfel winks, still delighted to be called a fashion icon. “Now I’m cool.”
Co-founder and creative director of Blue Illusion, Donna Guest, who signed film star Juliette Binoche and artist Mirka Mora to earlier campaigns, says Apfel was on her radar for years, long before Albert Mayles’ biographical film, “Iris”, was released in 2014.
“I’ve always been fascinated by Iris,” she says. “She hasn’t slowed down and there’s no rules with her; she just wears what she loves. She has liberated women from age as a limitation; rather, inspired them to not even question it.”
Guest co-founded Blue Illusion 30 years ago, to make fashion with a French flair, for women over 40.
It was and still is, a notoriously difficult market, with a wild variance of body types and tastes to accomodate. Sizing can be delicate, blocks and details such as necklines and hemlines, sleeves, structural lines and fabric selections often have to fit bodies that have changed with age, but are still attached to egos that have not.
“But, you CAN wear the latest trend if it’s designed to cater for you,” Guest says. “That’s what we do, and we get excited about doing it.”
Her brand is one of few that do, despite an aging population and studies that repeatedly confirm women want to dress fashionably long after they hit 40. With a few exceptions however, most fashion brands stay pitched in younger markets.
Guest arranged for Blue Illusion’s autumn campaign, “Ageless” to be shot in Apfel’s eclectic, glamourous apartment on New York’s Park Avenue. The collection is markedly less flambouyant than her usual taste but that, according to Apfel, is precisely why she likes it.
“The styles aren’t gimmicky and that’s the trick,” she says. “A few simple pieces that are decently cut like Blue Illusion’s, and you can use your imagination, adding your own bits and pieces…”
Iris photographed for The Times, UK.
www.thetimes.com.uk
Apfel’s own “bits and pieces” including the clanking bangles, fur collars and yokes of fat knuckle beads in this campaign, were accumulated in 50-odd years of shopping, from the ateliers of Paris, to the lush bazaars of Istanbul, Tunis and Marrakesh. She worked and travelled with her husband and business partner in their decorating and textiles business, Carl, until he died, aged 100, only last year.
In 2005, Apfel’s vast collection of jewels and clothes inspired the exhibition, “What Iris Wore” at the Costume Institute of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. And, in 2007 “Rare Bird of Fashion”, a glossy autobiography and catalogue of Apfel’s collection, was published, with fashion photographer Eric Boman describing her style as; “Exuberantly idiosyncratic, combining genres, colours, textures and patterns without regard to period, provenance or, ultimately, aesthetic convention.”
Apfel’s own summary of her extraordinary style is simpler: “I’m not always flambouyant,” she says. “I don’t live and breath fashion and I’m not an empty-headed fashionista, that’s for sure,” she says. “But, fashion is a nice thing; it’s fun, it’s a joy. When you dress up, it’s a creative experience and everyone should have that.”
Blue Illusion’s “Ageless” autumn/winter collection will be launched in stores in February, 1800 208 205. Main picture, top: Iris wears Denim Patchwork Jacket $300, Embroidered Top $160, Raquel Shaping Jean $200, Iris Bangles from $40. www.blueillusion.com
