Iris Apfel, 97-year-old style icon, is now officially signed to IMG Models

IMG Models is one of the world’s top modeling agencies, repping some of the industry’s biggest names, like Karlie Kloss, Gigi Hadid, and Gisele Bündchen—perhaps you’ve heard of them? And now the agency can officially add Iris Apfel to the list. The New York-based style icon, who is instantly recognizable thanks to her signature white hair, red lipstick, oversized round glasses, and layers and layers of jewelry, was just signed to the agency—at 97 years old.

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Apfel told WWD:

"We’ll be doing hopefully collaborations, or maybe I’ll be a spokesperson. I leave it to them. They know better than I."

The style icon, who, in 2005, became the first living person who wasn’t a designer to have her clothing and accessories made into an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibit was called “Rara Avis (Rare Bird): The Irreverent Iris Apfel,” and documented her impressive collection of pieces over the years.

Now, Apfel is shaking up the way things are done once again by being signed at almost 100 years old (!). “It’s great fun,” Apfel said to WWD about modeling. “I like it a lot. Who would think I would be a 97-year-old cover girl?” This is a great step forward in terms of reducing ageism in the modeling industry, and we hope other agencies take note.