Colourful

Iris Apfel’s legacy
29 August 1921 to 1 March 2024.

In the summer of 2023, as Iris Apfel welcomed her 102nd birthday, she put pen to paper to write this very special project: what Iris called her legacy book.

Comprising of over 200 personal photos and adorned with beautiful, unseen fabric patterns from her Old World Weaver’s collection, Iris’s incredible energy radiates from every page. Here she shares her creative work, life stories, adventures, and her unwavering belief in the essential power of colour and creativity on a life well lived.



This is not a book of secrets – I have no secrets. Sorry to disappoint if that’s what you’re looking for. I have some good stories though. And a few ideas. This book is about living, creating and colour. Because creativity and colour matter. I don’t want you to dress like me or think like me – that’s not the idea of this book. I want you to find the colours, confidence and creative inspiration that reflect you. My life has been filled with love, wonder and a very deep, incurable curiosity. This book is my treasure trove of inspiration, influences and ideas: My source. Be brave. Find your source. What makes you happy?

Much love, Iris x

Review

The book offers a rich tapestry of inspiration that outshines any Instagram scroll... a paean to fun. ― The Financial Times

This is a book like no other. Part artwork and part compendium of a lifetime’s experience in design, it is meant to be looked at as much as read. ― The Spectator

Famous for her distinctive style, as well as her bons mots, the accidental fashion pin-up wrote a final book to share everything she learnt about failure, marriage and, yes, wearing colour. ― Sunday Times Style

It has been an honour to know and to learn from Iris. ― Ruvén Afanador

A force of nature. ― Tommy Hilfiger

About the Author

Iris Apfel