Fashion icon Iris Apfel has died aged 102, a statement on her Instagram has announced. The self-proclaimed "geriatric starlet" passed away in her home in Palm Beach, Florida on Friday.
Tributes from stars and admirers alike poured in as the sad news was announced, with the likes of Lenny Kravitz and Lily Collins leading the way.
Lenny wrote: "You mastered the art of living. Thank you for your energy and inspiration."
Lily commented: "The fashion gods are welcoming an icon", before penning a longer accolade to the fashion legend.
"What a woman. What a legend. What a life", she wrote. "I had the pleasure of wearing her designs on @emilyinparis and honor of being able to express my admiration for her influence. Your style will live on @iris.apfel and your legacy forever celebrated".
© @lilyjcollins InstagraTed Lasso star Hannah Waddingham also paid tribute to the star, adding: "Ohhhhhh. Goodnight and God bless Ma'am. What joy and endless style you brought to so many".
"Wow! What a truly remarkable life #IrisApfel lived", said former First Lady of California Maria Shriver. "She truly did it all: She was a businesswoman, she was a fashion model, she was a fashion icon, she was a college professor, she was a star of a documentary, she was a Barbie doll! Iris is truly proof that age is just a number."
Iris started off as a trailblazer of textiles, founding Old World Weavers with her lifelong husband Carl in 1950 where they specialized in the reproduction of fabrics from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Together they traveled the world in search of textiles they couldn't source in the United States.
She later became known for her work in the White House, where she took part in design restoration projects for nine different presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Bill Clinton.
© Joe KohenIt wasn't until the age of 90 that she got her first big job in fashion and beauty, where she developed a limited edition collection of makeup for MAC cosmetics in 2011. She said: "I'm the oldest living broad that ever graced a major cosmetics campaign."
She would go on to create collections for H&M, Ciaté and more.
Iris was well known for her love of colors, pairing dazzling patterns with her staple pair of oversized black-framed glasses.
"People would say to me, 'why are they so large?' and I would say because they are good to see you," she told PEOPLE, "And that would shut them up."
Iris' husband Carl died aged 100 in 2015. The couple had been together since 1947. She called Carl "a very generous man, and a very funny man. He had a great, dry sense of humor and he was very kind to everybody." The couple never had any children.
The fashion icon continued to work even when she was a centenarian, as Iris revealed that was what she loved to do most. "At 100, what else is there to do except sit around? I don't play bridge. I don't play golf. I love to work, and I really enjoy what I do," she said.
