"Geriatric star"

US fashion icon Apfel dead at the age of 102

(Bild: AP/Invision/Andy Kropa)

Legendary US interior designer and fashion icon Iris Apfel is dead. The self-declared "geriatric starlet" died on Friday at the age of 102, as announced on her official Instagram page.

Apfel, who was known for her extravagant outfits and huge round glasses, had posted on the platform, on which around 2.9 million people followed her, just the day before ("I am one hundred and two and a half years old today" - see post below). Until the end, she was also a regular guest at fashion shows, where she appeared in a wheelchair.

Worked for nine US presidents
Apfel, who was born into a Jewish family in the New York borough of Queens in 1921, initially studied art history and then worked as an interior decorator. She worked on the interiors of the White House for nine US presidents, among others.

Over the decades, she collected a huge number of designer dresses and became a style icon. The Metropolitan Museum in New York dedicated an exhibition to her wardrobe in 2005.

Apfel worked with major companies such as H&M and took part in an advertising campaign for the Citroën car brand. Filmmaker Albert Maysles memorialized her in 2014 with the documentary "Iris".

"Dare to be different"
 Apfel repeatedly encouraged women to dress outlandishly and not follow a standardized look. "Dare to be different. Be yourself, be individual," she once said. "If you wear something and it doesn't suit you, don't worry. The style police won't arrest you."