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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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Liz Claiborne Dead at 78

Designer was first woman to found Fortune 500 company

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(Newser) – Designer Liz Claiborne, whose styles aimed at career women revolutionized everyday fashion sense in America and brought feminine new looks to the workplace, is dead at 78. She was the first woman founder of a Fortune 500 company. Claiborne died Tuesday in New York, after a lengthy battle with bone cancer.

Claiborne's career began when she won a trip to Paris in a fashion design contest. She launched her brand in 1976, at a time when large numbers of women were entering the workforce. Her colorful and stylish separates are credited with launching the women's sportswear category and changing the way department stores market clothing to working women.

This undated photo of fashion designer Liz Claiborne was released in New York by Liz Claiborne, Inc. Claiborne, whose styles became a cornerstone of career women's wardrobes in the 1970s and 1980s,died Tuesday, June 26, 2007, the company she founded said Wednesday. She was 78. (AP Photo/Liz Claiborne, Inc....
This undated photo of fashion designer Liz Claiborne was released in New York by Liz Claiborne, Inc. Claiborne, whose styles became a cornerstone of career women's wardrobes in the 1970s and 1980s,died...   (Associated Press)
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Fashion designer Liz Claiborne waves, in this Aug. 30, 1949 file photo, as she arrives at Penn Station in New York en route to Paris for a ten-day trip after winning a Harper's Bazaar-sponsored design contest. Fashion house Liz Claiborne Inc. says founder Liz Claiborne, whose styles became an important...
Fashion designer Liz Claiborne waves, in this Aug. 30, 1949 file photo, as she arrives at Penn Station in New York en route to Paris for a ten-day trip after winning a Harper's Bazaar-sponsored design...   (Associated Press)
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Related links

The industry bible pays tribute to a pioneer
Women's Wear Daily Subscription

Recalling the most successful American designer of her time
New York Times

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