Obituary: Iris Apfel, designer

Not everyone knew Iris Apfel by name, but with her big, round, black-rimmed glasses, bright red lipstick, short white hair and eccentric style the designer was instantly recognisable. No-one else could carry off her irreverent, eye-catching outfits, mixing haute couture and oversized costume jewelry. A classic Apfel look would, for instance, pair a feather boa with strands of chunky beads, bangles and a jacket decorated with Native American beadwork. "I’m not pretty, and I’ll never be pretty, but it doesn’t matter," she once said. "I have something much better. I have style."

Born in 1921, Apfel was a textile expert and interior designer foremostly, but in her latter years was a fashion celebrity well-known enough for her story to be told in a feature length documentary. She was also a latter day social media star, amassing nearly 3 million followers on Instagram and 215,000 followers on TikTok. She and her late husband Carl owned a textile manufacturing company, Old World Weavers, and specialised in restoration work, including projects at the White House under six different US presidents. Her celebrity clients included Estee Lauder and Greta Garbo. Iris Apfel died on March 1 aged 102. — Agencies