Liz Claiborne: The Business of Fashion

Born 82 years ago today, Liz Claiborne changed the fashion world – and the business world, too. Her easy-going comfortable designs opened up new possibilities for working women of the 1970s and '80s who didn't want to be confined to stuffy suits. Claiborne designed clothes for women like herself: busy, successful, always on the go.

And as a business woman, she was more than just a success – she was a sensation. Her company was the first led by a woman to crack the Fortune 500, and she singlehandedly changed the approach of department stores to fashion by insisting that her designs remain together in one section rather than be separated into pants, blouses, shoes and so on. On the anniversary of her birth, check out some classic Liz Claiborne designs – new ones, too – at our Liz Claiborne Pinterest board.