Introducing Iris

We meet German-born Iris in her architecturally beautifully designed house in Virginia, which they moved out to from New York to look after her husband’s father during the pandemic. Next stop: Seattle. However, these are not the places Iris wants to call home, for her dream is to live in Paris. Indeed, Paris suits her, she seems Parisian. Elegant, confident and chic, there is an air of calm about Iris, perhaps due to the deep breathing meditative exercises she had done that morning. Or, perhaps, it’s her realization that now her two sons are in their late twenties, perhaps that dream of living in Paris could soon come true. Sitting back in an oversized and equally architectural chair, Iris is strikingly beautiful to look at and, if she doesn’t model, definitely could. But it feels crass to ask. We’re offered a chair in front of a bookshelf crammed with books on culture, the arts, design and travel, and prop our espresso on top of a pile of interior magazines, ready to start talking.

Let’s start with having you explain your style to us, Iris…

My style has not changed ever, I wear over-sized men’s suits and I know what looks good on me, that’s style. I know what flatters my figure and I know what colors look good on me. I am all about simplicity, I don’t want to think about what I’m going to wear and I rarely do. That’s very important.

I’ll tell you a story, actually. When I was about twelve years old, living in Germany, we drove through a tiny village and got out the car to stretch our legs. I’ll never forget, but there was a woman there, working in her garden, holding a huge bunch of flowers. Her face was tanned, her hair was in braids and she wore this wonderful oversized man’s shirt. Can you guess where I’m going? And Birkenstocks. She had an old pair of them on too and I remember looking at her and just thinking, ‘When I grow up, I want to look just like her.’ And oh, I do. I still do. I mean, look at me. All I’m missing is the braids and the tan.

Who inspires you style-wise?

When I worked at Anthom, these Japanese and Chinese women would come in and pick things up and put them together in a way that I would never have thought of. I liked that courage, that confidence. They were, what’s the word, not careless, but carefree. I’d be like, ‘Gosh, does that actually go together?’ and it would!

In the public eye, whose style do you admire and are influenced by?

I couldn’t name you three people that inspired me if I tried, but Lamy, oh Lamy, I absolutely adore her. I adore! I adore! I was in Paris for the Man x Women show and I saw Rick Owens walking, he walked right past me, I couldn’t believe it. Also, there’s a Korean Designer called Yune Ho, I love what he does, he’s an incredible designer.

If you could ‘steal’ one person [in the public eye’s] closet, whose closet would you steal and why?

If I could steal someone’s closet, I think I would steal Jil Sander’s closet, or Yohji Yamamoto’s.

I haven't mentioned shoes, I think, perhaps, that’s because I’m not too interested in them. I have some Birkenstocks, they’re a staple. I only wear low heels and even then, very rarely. I suppose the shoe style I go for, if I want to look just a little bit feminine [which is not necessarily my style, you see], would be a low heel chartreuse shoe. But… I don’t have much interest in heels at all.