The founder of her own clothing label, Claiborne lost her battle with cancer at the age of 78 in a New York hospital.
Claiborne started her own company in 1976 with the help of her husband. The brand quickly took its place in creating clothes for business women, and the clothes were stylish, well co-ordinated and affordable.
In 2006, Claiborne talked about her clothing line with Wear Daily magazine. "The concept was to dress the American working woman because I, as a working woman with a child (from her previous marriage) didn’t want to spend hours shopping. Things should be easy. You don’t have to dress in that little navy blue suit with a tie," Claiborne told trade paper Women’s Wear Daily in 2006. "I wanted to dress her in sportier clothes and colors."
Liz Claiborne Inc. currently has more than 30,000 retail stores around the world and continues to grow.