Liz Claiborne dies at 78

Liz Claiborne, the American pioneer of casual daywear, died Tuesday in New York at the age of 78. Claiborne, who is credited as dressing a generation of working women in the seventies and eighties by offering affordable and quality leisurewear, had been battling cancer for 10 years.

Claiborne was one of the co-founders in 1976 of Liz Claiborne Inc., which became one of the most successful apparel companies in the world. When she retired in 1989, the publicly traded company had grown into a $1.2 billion powerhouse, generating $110.3 million in net profits.

From the get-go, Claiborne had a clear idea of the clothing she wanted to design, and her groundbreaking concepts became the backbone of the better-price sportswear area of department stores. In an interview with WWD last year, Claiborne said, "The concept was to dress the American working woman because I, as a working woman with a child, 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. I wanted to dress her in sportier clothes and colours."