Zelda Kaplan, 95 collapses then dies at Fashion Week

Carried out: Security personnel move Ms Kaplan after she collapsed in the middle of the show

Zelda Kaplan attends the Joanna Mastroianni Fall 2012 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Studio at Lincoln Center on February 15, 2012 in New York City

95-year-old fashion maven Zelda Kaplan collapsed during a Fashion Week show today. Her condition is unknown.

Fashion maven Zelda Kaplan, 95, collapsed while on the front row of the Joanna Mastroianni show at Fashion Week today.

Witnesses said beloved Kaplan "slumped forward" after the models had started walking out at the 1 p.m. show at The Studio at Lincoln Center today.

She was carried out of the show by security and taken to a private area where EMTs gave her CPR. An ambulance was called and Kaplan was taken to hospital. Her current condition is not known.

Zelda is known as the matriarch of New York's nightlife scene. Often spotted in African-print dresses and giant circular sunglasses, she is famous for staying out all night and partying with the city's most energetic club kids.
--------------------------------------------------------
Updated: 6:33 PM

Zelda Kaplan, a philanthropist and energetic - if geriatric -Manhattan nightlife fixture, known for her African print dresses and oversize sunglasses died Wednesday after collapsing at Fashion Week on Wednesday. She was 95.

Kaplan fainted in the front row of the Joanna Mastroianni runway show as the models began walking, just moments after she had posed for photogs wearing a festive red skirt suit.

She was carried out by security and rushed to the hospital where she died.

"Zelda Kaplan is a true original and a cultural icon, particularly to seniors as persons who are vivacious unpredictable and great fun to be around,” said society photographer Patrick McMullan. “I will truly miss her. But look forward to seeing her again in the great night-club she will be hosting called after-life."

Kaplan, a former ballroom dance instructor and philanthropist who traveled frequently to Africa, is the subject of an HBO documentary entitled "Her Name Is Zelda."

Kaplan established a foundation with the money inherited after her husband’s death to raise awareness about female genital mutilation in Africa.

The film, which was directed by Nicole Sampogna and Mona Eldaief, follows Kaplan's transformation from a twice-divorced housewife to a liberated single woman, who was known to shut down popular hotspot Bungalow 8, well into her 80s.