More than 1,100 items from designer Iris Apfel’s personal collection spanning fashion, textiles, furniture and accessories will go on sale Oct. 15 as part of a three-day auction presented by a New Jersey-based auction and appraisal company.
Millea Bros., which specializes in newly available property from New York metro area estates, institutions and private collections, will host “Apfelicious! • The Iris Apfel Sale” at its Boonton, N.J., gallery through Oct. 17. Items also will be available for bid by phone and online.
Drawn from Apfel’s New York and Palm Beach homes as well as her personal storage, the sale showcases the last of her collection not included in Christie’s “Unapologetically Iris” auction held earlier this year.
Apfel, whose trademark oversize glasses and eclectic style sense helped to make her a fashion icon, died at her Palm Beach home in March 2024 at the age of 102.
“She was a unique personality who definitely marched to the beat of her own drum,” Mark Millea, who along with his brother, Michael, founded Millea Bros. in 2003, said of Apfel. “She was a collector of things, and those things were Native American items she was interested in, and Chinese textiles, and a lot of French furniture and decorations, as well as textiles from around the globe.”
The collection captures Apfel’s signature approach to style, celebrating self-expression through color, texture, humor, and heritage, Millea said.
Among the auction’s highlights are Apfel’s collections of Native American clothing, accessories, and Kachina dolls; Chinese textiles ranging from rank badges to robes and fans; French and Continental furniture and decorative arts; Venetian hand-painted furniture and porcelains; Haitian art; Northwest Coast masks and textiles; and bolts of Old World Weavers fabrics and trims.
Items range in price from $60-$80 to $3,000-$5,000, Millea said.
Apfel’s clothing collection is expected to attract strong interest from bidders, said Lisa Robins, the director of operations for Millea Bros.
The clothing collection spans from the 1950s to the present, showcasing styles from each decade and blending thrift finds with high-end and couture pieces.
“It’s like high-low fashion mixed together, which is kind of what she liked to do,” Robins said. “She created looks by putting all different things together and putting the unusual together in a way that maybe nobody else did. That’s what makes it so fun and exciting, and it’s still relevant today. The stuff that’s old still looks new. And it’s still very wearable — all of it.”
Bidding will begin at 10 a.m. each day, with options to participate in person at Millea Bros. Gallery, 607 Myrtle Avenue, Boonton, N.J., as well as by phone or online.
To view the full catalog, join the livestream or learn more, visit www.milleabros.com or call 973‑377‑1500.
Millea said he anticipates all 1,173 pieces in the collection will sell, highlighting the lasting influence of Apfel’s style and enduring appeal.
“It’s a direct reflection of her in her life,” he said. “It’s an opportunity, because the items are not at a super high price point, for the most part, so it’s more accessible, and it’s her.”
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at [email protected]. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
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