Iris Apfel

Iris Apfel is a renowned collector of and authority on antique textiles. In 1950, she and her husband, Carl Apfel, founded Old World Weavers, an international textile manufacturing company specializing in reproducing antique fabrics for an elite clientele. She was also a consultant to the White House during 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. Since then she has been featured in numerous publications in print and online and has collaborated with and been the face of numerous brands and retailers. She was also the subject of director Albert Maysles' award-winning film Iris. She sells Rara Avis, her line of clothing and accessories, on the Home Shopping Network. An associate professor at the University of Texas who teaches students about the fashion industry, 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 and for her inspiration as a true original to artists and designers of all generations and from all walks of life.