INSPIRATION
ARTIN’ WITH THE MUSE
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
MY INTERVIEW WITH STYLE ICON
IRIS APFEL I by Jennifer Love Gironda
But I did. JLG: Before I get started, I am a little distracted by your shoes! IA: They are from my collection on the Home Shopping Network. JLG: One of the things I love about the opening of the film was just that you were in a normal store with everyday jewelry. I know you combine everyday pieces that everyone can afford with expensive and beautiful pieces. What advice do you have for this layering technique? IA: You have to educate your eye. Sometimes it’s color, sometimes it’s textures, sometimes it’s everything ...sometimes it’s so terrible that it’s wonderful! It’s something instinctive. I don’t do anything by rote- I have no rules or regulations. I don’t believe in them. JLG: Because you would break them? IA: [laughs] Iris leans in and touches my necklace combination! Please note, I spent quite a bit of time constructing just the right piece for this meeting with Iris. I opted for a huge silver chain necklace interwoven with a thin, bendable ‘snake’ necklace and two stacked silver bracelets with a little black dress. And yes, I did not want to take it off after the interview…or ever! JLG: In the film, you mention your mother as a fashion inspiration, and that she ... IA: [chimes in unison]…worshiped at the altar of accessories. JLG: Is there one look or piece that your mother wore that is especially memorable for you? 28
SUMMER 2015
IA: I don’t have particular favorites or pieces. I like them all! It was just her general look…it’s an essence. I believe in essence.
Iris Apfel at the premiere of Albert Maysles’s documentary, Iris, at MIFF.
JLG: What was the last accessory purchase that you’ve made? IA: I found a wonderful necklace, it’s junk jewelry of course, but costly junk jewelry! It has faux diamonds and turquoise but it’s all skulls…very done up. I have never seen anything like that before. JLG: I am a former weaver so I was very interested in your dealings with textiles. Do you have a favorite textile print of fabric? IA: I love so many, how could I choose just one?! I love natural fibers. I love silk, but really good silk, not some of the crummy silk. Also, 18th century natural dyes, fruit and vegetable dyes... the colors are so gorgeous! The textures are so marvelous and the workmanship is … (just smiles). How can you compare that with a computer generated piece of fabric?
Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa hosted 100 noted guests who raised their glasses to toast legendary style icon and Palm Beach resident Iris Apfel on the release of Albert Maysles’s documentary about her. “Iris” was the late producer’s last film and it is now playing in local theaters and across the country.
JLG: One of the things that I love about the film is the second story line; the great love between you and Carl. IA: Why, thank you, that’s true…67 years! JLG: My 10 year anniversary this summer! IA: Good for you! JLG: What advice can you offer on marriage? IA: Sense of humor. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Give each other enough space... don’t be on one another’s backs! My husband gave me all kinds of space except in the closet! [Laughs]
Artwork titled “My Fairy Glam Mother” gifted to Iris by the artist Jennifer Love Gironda.
At this point in the interview I give Iris an art piece I created inspired by her, My Fairy Glam Mother. I ask for some final thoughts. JLG: If you had magical dust that you could use to get rid of one terrible trend…what would it be? IA: Oh my God, there’s so many! I think vulgarity in fashion and in life. And I would tell all young people- stop pressing so many buttons and get a life! Iris, I love you. Iris Apfel, Pratt Trustee/Alumnus and Kravis Center Founder Member Bruce M. Newman at the Pratt Institute and Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Sculpture Competition in West Palm Beach.
PHOTOSFROM TOP TO BOTTOM: IRIS , © COURTESY OF THE MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL; IRIS AT EAU, © CAPEHART; ARTWORK © JENNIFER LOVE GIRONDA; IRIS AT KRAVIS, © CAPEHART
was honored with the privilege of interviewing the fashion icon Iris Apfel right before the premiere of her documentary, Iris, at the Miami International Film Festival. I did my best not to cry, pass out or blubber on like some crazed fan girl but…folks..we’re talkin’ about the Iris Apfel here. I seriously want to be her when I grow up. It’s not every day that you get a chance to sit right beside someone that you so admire or look up to.