You’ve been a mainstay of the New York fashion scene for years, and you’re now the subject of a documentary, “Iris,” directed by Albert Maysles. Considering how long you’ve been around, are you surprised at all the recent interest in your life? It seems insane to me. I’m doing nothing different than what I’ve done for the last 70-odd years. Maybe I was ahead of the game, and people caught up with me. There aren’t too many 93-year-old cover girls around.

Do you think our attitude about age has changed? Not fast enough. Designers have completely ignored the over-65-year-old market. We have plenty of time and expendable income, and we can’t find anything to buy, because everything is designed for 15-year-olds. I mean, the youth market has to be served, but not with $5,000 dresses.

You’re also a visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Do you think style can be taught? No. Fashion expertise, yes. But style has nothing to do with how much you spend on your clothes. The most stylish people I’ve seen in my life were in Naples right after the Second World War. They were all practically in tatters. But the way they threw themselves together and carried themselves, they really looked like a squillion dollars.

You’re celebrated by designers for your eccentric style, but many of those same people tend to dress in low-profile ways. Why do you think that is? I mean, lots of people pay lip service to it, but they won’t wear it. They’re afraid. You gotta know yourself very well, and you have to be honest with what you can pull off. If you’re not comfortable with it, no matter how marvelous the outfit is, you’re gonna look like a jerk, because you’re gonna be so uncomfortable. I think, given a choice, it’s better to be unstylish but happy.