California Apparel News

As the centennial birthday of fashion and design icon Iris Apfel approaches, online eyewear retailer Zenni announced the release of its Iris Apfel Zentennial Collection. Designed by Apfel, whose stylish eyewear completes every outfit, the collection features five frame styles that are created in bright colors such as cerulean, Serengeti, emerald green, mosaic and red. Striking patterns are featured on shapes such as cat eye, round and square.

“I think it’s important to be original and true to yourself. People are so much the same these days when it comes to style, it can be so boring!” said Apfel, who refers to herself as a “geriatric starlet.” “I tried to do my small part in helping make these glasses that can change people’s mood and help them express their genuine individuality. I’m so pleased to give Zenni customers this gift and hope it allows people to unapologetically celebrate their personal style, as everyone can be a style icon.”

In May, the Novato, Calif., Zenni launched the Iris Apfel Edit to begin celebrating the style maven's birthday. That collection was curated by Apfel, while the current collection was designed by the stylish almost centenarian. This collection, which includes 12 frames, affords personalization with a choice of different lenses including Zenni’s blue-light protecting Blokz lenses that can be added to any pair, in addition to sunglasses, progressives and readers.

“We’re over the moon that Iris has entrusted us to bring her design brilliance and passion for eyewear to millions of her fans and our fashion-forward Zenni customers who want to embrace their inner Iris and toast her as she kicks off her Zentennial year,” said Michelle Ticknor, head of lifestyle and social-impact partnerships at Zenni. “We hope the Iris Apfel Zentennial Collection inspires people to find their own unique style and have fun with their eyewear. Even though this is an ultra-luxe Zenni collection, it’s priced to help our customers build an eyewear wardrobe to suit every mood, passion and color palette.”

Designed with Zenni's team of creatives and product designers, the collection was developed with Apfel at her Palm Beach, Fla., home, sourcing information from vintage frames from her collection, favorite artwork, jewelry, textiles and apparel from her personal collection. Many items that Apfel has collected were found over a rich life that she shared with her beloved husband and business partner Carl, who passed away in 2015. The What's New Pussycat frame, which is included in this new Iris x Zenni capsule, is a play on Apfel's pet name for Carl—“pussycat.” The campaign for the collection was shot by Ruvén Afanador and is complemented by a lookbook that showcases additional storytelling regarding the capsule.

Priced from $45.95 and available on the Zenni website, the collection's eyewear includes an exclusive case and cloth designed by Apfel in celebration of her 100th birthday. On Aug. 31, Zenni will host an Instagram giveaway, as the brand encourages followers to embrace their #InnerIris, during which prizes signed by Apfel and glasses from the collection will be awarded.