Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman.

Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that could be mixed and matched.

[4] In 1949, Claiborne won the Jacques Heim National Design Contest (sponsored by Harper's Bazaar),[5][page needed][ISBN missing] and then moved to Manhattan where she worked for years in the Garment District on Seventh Avenue,[4] as a sketch artist at Tina Leser, the sportswear producer.

For example, Claiborne insisted that her line of clothing be displayed separately, as a department to itself and including all of the items she offered.

This was the first time customers were able to select many types of clothing articles by brand name alone in one location of a department store.

[8] In 1980, Liz Claiborne Accessories was founded through employee Nina McLemore (who decades later would launch a label of her own, in 2001).

[7] Claiborne listed all employees in her corporate directory in alphabetical order, to circumvent what she perceived as male hierarchies.