Few so called best-dressed society women elicit such adoration among lesser dressed women as Iris Barrel Apfel. I know several otherwise very sensible ladies who start to swoon at the very mention of her name. One friend even harbors a secret fantasy of becoming the glamorous octogenarian’s adult adoptee. Barrel Apfel is an interior and textile designer who attracted a die-hard following of fans when The Met exhibited her wardrobe in the surprise hit exhibition Rara Avis in 2005. The show drew record numbers of designers, students and regular museum goers who came back again and again to get their fix of Iris’ mad cap mix of colors, shapes and Tibetan jewelry. You don’t have to be particularly interested in clothes to be impressed and inspired by her creativity. Barrel Apfel dresses like a living sculpture, creating a perfect balance between strong, graphic shapes and vivid colors. Even though she wears top couture labels like Balenciaga and Lanvin, her clothes are not fashion statements but more like canvases for her self-expression.

If you’re in the New York area within the next few weeks and would like to get to know Iris, you should take a trip to the Nassau Museum on Long Island where the Rara Avis exhibit is on show until September 7. And if you can’t do that there’s always her book.

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