Style Icon Zelda Kaplan Collapses At Fashion Show And Dies (UPDATED)

by Verena von Pfetten | 7:15 pm, February 15th, 2012

Zelda Kaplan at the Joanna Mastroianni show this afternoon.

Zelda Kaplan, a 95-year-old style icon and frequent star of Ari Cohen‘s Advanced Style blog, reportedly passed away today while at the Joanna Mastroianna fall show at Lincoln Center.

The New York Post reports:

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.

A statement from her friends said, “Zelda Kaplan passed away suddenly today at the age of 95 from natural causes, she was surrounded by friends and family. She will be deeply missed and always loved.”

Ruth Finley, publisher of The Fashion Calendar, told the New York Times, “She flopped over in my lap. The show was just starting. I thought she fainted.”

Kaplan celebrated her 95th birthday in June of last year and has been profiled in the New York Times and on StyleLikeU. You can see her video below. Our thoughts go out to her friends and family.

UPDATE: A spokeswoman from St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center confirmed to the New York Times that Kaplan passed away.