American Icon Iris Apfel on Individualism, Freedom of Expression and Great Style
Smartly eccentric characters are familiar terrain for the documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles - he is, after all, the man who captured the conspiracy fashion icon Edith Beale dancing through the decrepit rooms associated with Grey Gardens in a lush fur and silk head neckties. Nearly 40 years later, Maysles has turned his lens to some very different, more uplifting pioneer of individual style. In “Iris, ” premiering at the New York Film Festival this week, Maysles comes after Iris Apfel - interior designer, businesswoman, champion of showy dress. The 94-year-old Apfel’s story is full of color - through her design projects at the White House to her line of daring accessories for the Home Shopping Network and a retrospective at the Fulfilled - and Maysles’s exploration of her creative trajectory is up near and deeply personal.
In an exclusive clip from “Iris, ” shown here, Apfel discusses signature pieces from her closet, like her collection of amber jewelry and wildly printed Versace pants, from inside her exuberantly decorated apartment. “It was difficult to keep up with her, ” says Maysles of the filming process, that began in 2010. “It was one surprise after the other. Past those magnificent eyeglasses, she was so full of grace as well as humanity. ”
Apfel’s favorite thing about being filmed? “Feeling like an old movie queen, entourage and all, ” she says. “Thank God that was temporary. ”
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