Liz Claiborne was a Belgian-American fashion designer born in 1929. In the 1950s and 1960s, she designed sportswear and dresses. In 1976, she founded Liz Claiborne Inc. and revolutionized women's work clothing by making it more comfortable yet professional. Her reasonably priced separates like pants and button-downs allowed women more freedom and identity in their work attire. By 1985, Liz Claiborne Inc. was listed on the Fortune 500 as the first woman-founded company to achieve this. Claiborne changed the way women dressed for work and was an inspirational fashion pioneer.