Iris Apfel Celebrates 100th Birthday With Zenni Eyewear Collaboration
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Iris Apfel is marking her milestone birthday with an accessories collection inspired by her iconic style.
Apfel is teaming with eyewear brand Zenni for a 100-piece collection to celebrate her upcoming 100th birthday in August. The fashion icon, who is known for her oversized, round glasses, curated the collection herself from Zenni’s selection of colorful, printed styles.
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“I adore accessories and I think glasses can absolutely make an outfit,” Apfel said about the collection. “I collected them long before I needed them. For me, glasses inspire or finish all of my looks. We all shouldn’t want to look the same and glasses are a fantastic way to find your own unique style and change things up.”
Apfel’s collection, named the “Iris Apfel Edit,” includes five categories of eyewear styles. The collection includes “Live Colorfully,” a selection of eye-catching styles like floral print cat-eye glasses, black-and-white polka-dot glasses and a geometric-shaped turquoise style. There’s also the “Bazaar Treasures” category, which is inspired by Apfel’s love of flea markets, the “Signature Style” range, which include an assortment of oversized styles and the “Structural Design” assortment, which were inspired by Apfel’s interest in architecture. Apfel’s collection also includes a “Mini Iris” range for children.
“This collection is for anyone who strives to stand out from the crowd — and that should be everyone,” she said. “I am mad for oversized frames and Zenni has so many pairs to choose from. Of course, I didn’t shy away from colors like red and turquoise — some of my favorites — for both lenses and frames.”
The collaboration is part of a multiyear partnership between Apfel and Zenni. Apfel is also designing an exclusive capsule collection to debut during her birthday month and she will work on eyewear drops each year through 2024.
The Zenni partnership is the latest project to come from Apfel, who has been an influential figure in the fashion industry for roughly seven decades. Last year, Apfel released an autobiographical coloring book that depicted many stages from her career that benefited the University of Texas at Austin’s UT in NYC program that she launched a decade ago.
“I always say I accidentally fell into this role, but it’s nice to be admired,” Apfel said about being considered a fashion icon. “Everyone should feel confident to express their personality or mood through how they present themselves to the world and have fun while doing it. That’s what I’ve always tried to do.”
Apfel’s Zenni eyewear collection is available on the brand’s website and ranges in price from $16.95 to $45.95.
Courtesy of Zenni/Ruven Afanador
Courtesy of Zenni/Ruven Afanador
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