Shop Iris Apfel’s Eclectic H&M Collection Now
BY ALICE
NEWBOLD
31 March
2022
https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/iris-apfel-hm
Waiting for
Iris Apfel to log on to Zoom to discuss her collaboration with H&M, which
hits shops on 31 March, is a little like waiting for the Queen to pop up
online. Half an hour later than planned, due to hold-ups on set for her high-street
campaign shoot, Apfel’s signature bug-eyed spectacles and expertly coiffed
white up-do eventually appear on screen. Then, the world’s best-dressed
centenarian is off, waxing lyrical about her success as an older influencer,
and landing deliciously delivered bon mots as she goes.
Iris, it
transpires, is a longtime H&M shopper, and recalls a particularly good haul
in Germany, the fruits of which she still wears now. “I love the idea of doing
high and low,” she says of teaming pieces from the Swedish behemoth with haute
hits from Bergdorf. Apfel, a former interior designer who rose to fame late in
life after decorating the White House under various administrations with her
husband, liked the idea of bringing her signature eclecticism to a wider
audience. Those people who also “want to look a little bit different”, and
don’t have a small fortune to spend on doing so. “To me, it was a perfect fit,”
she explains of a collaboration putting the focus squarely on individualism.
“There’s
not too much ‘fashion’ now unfortunately,” says the woman who shops at bargain
basements and flea markets, high-end boutiques and haute couture ateliers,
without prejudice. “When I was young, I used to sit and wait for the next batch
of magazines to come out, so I could see what the designers were cooking up.
Now, it’s all so homogenised; everyone copies everybody else and there’s hardly
anything new.” Apfel’s high-octane colour-pop H&M edit is certainly an
antidote to this; it’s a pleasant shock to the senses.
Retina-searing
coords jostle for attention next to floral jacquard suiting and delightfully
ruffled dresses – each a cacophony of textures and prints. Iris’s favourite
piece is a “hard to describe” but “very interesting” jacket, which she wore to
her 100th birthday party and “everyone loved”. Originally conceived to wear over
a bathing suit, Apfel, a total chameleon with eccentricity in her DNA,
prioritised adaptability in the capsule. “For me, the mix is everything,” she
declares. “There’s something for everybody.” The accessories, encompassing
wildlife motifs and treasures close to her heart, certainly facilitate the kind
of flamboyance she has been craving after a year of robes, pyjamas and feeling
like a “coddled egg”.
Looking
like part of what she calls “the mob” or “the herd” is the definition of
“unfashion” for this style icon brimming with personality. But, she insists, it
doesn’t require the boldest look to stand out from the crowd. There are pieces
in the H&M collection, from the printed silky coords to the louche
kaftan-inspired dresses, that are unique in their own quiet way. “It’s the
overall look that I think is important, because sometimes people wear too many
wonderful things all together and they don’t go; it’s the way it’s blended,”
she explains. Her parting words of wisdom? “Attitude, attitude, attitude.” Her
H&M edit certainly has that in buckets.
Shop
Vogue’s highlights from the collection below.
No comments:
Post a Comment