Iris Apfel is an octogenarian fashion maven. Her flair with colour and accessories and her remarkable wardrobe was the subject of an exhibition, Rara Avis: Selections from the Iris Barrel Apfel Collection (Rara Avis = Rare Bird), at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2005. The show featured 82 ensembles and more than 300 accessories, chosen from a wardrobe amassed over the last 50 years
Her style has inspired books, jewellery ranges, museum exhibitions and many a student’s embarkation on a career in fashion.
At the tender age of 90, Iris Apfel is now taking on the world of make-up, delivering her inimitable eccentricity to the fashion-driven – and far younger – crowd who usually shop at MAC.
The self-described “geriatric starlet” has seen a recent resurgence in the public eye thanks to her fashion line on HSN & in keeping with this line, the MAC collection is full of bombastically bright lipsticks, attention-grabbing nail lacquers and unambiguous hues of eye-shadow.
Perhaps at odds with many of her peers’ tastes, the palette she has chosen for the line is as contemporary as ever, with a hot pink lipstick that would not look out of place on another of the make-up company’s fans, Nicki Minaj.
Gemstone-like green, shocking pink and scarlet sit alongside no holes-barred dark grey, blue and orange.
On aging:
Getting older ain’t for sissies, I’ll tell you…You have to push yourself when you’re older, because it’s very easy to fall into the trap. You start to fall apart—you just have to do your best to paste yourself together. I think doing things and being active is very important. When your mind is busy, you don’t hurt so much.
The Rare Bird collection is available at MAC stores now, the LA team have already picked our favourite lipstick but we hear they’re selling out fast so we’re keeping this one to ourselves until it’s safely stowed away in our make-up bags!
Let us know what you think of MAC’s newest muse!
The LA Team x
