Zelda Kaplan, Beloved Socialite, Dies after Collapsing During Fashion Show

The world of fashion is in mourning after Zelda Kaplan, 95, died after fainting on the front row of the Joanna Mastroianni catwalk show at New York Fashion Week Wednesday.

According to a the NY Daily, Kaplan, a legendary New York socialite who shot to fame as a party circuit regular in the 1960s, slumped forward in her seat just as the show kicked off. Security carried her out of the auditorium, and she was given CPR by paramedics on the scene before being rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

“Zelda passed away, right there, in the front row. Security carried her out, but the show just carried on. Everybody is distraught,” one witness told the newspaper.

Zelda Kaplan’s cause of death has not been released at this time.

Just minutes before her collapse, the arts-scene icon was posing for photographers at the Joanna Mastroianni fashion show at Lincoln Center, showing off her usual vibrant, red African print ensemble and large circular sunglasses. Kaplan was known not only for being an inspiration in the fashion scene, but also for being a “club kid” at heart, often partying into the morning hours at some of New York’s most exclusive nightlife haunts.

“Passing away in the front row was how it was meant to be. Zelda loves fashion, so she died for fashion. She would have wanted to go out in style,” her close friend, fashion designer and performance artist Richie Rich, told the NY Post. “Zelda always said, ‘Live, live, live and have fun.’ … I hope the angels are holding her right now.”

In clip below, recorded in 2011, Zelda Kaplan shares her secret to staying young:

via NY Daily