fb-pixelArthur Ortenberg, a Liz Claiborne founder, dies at 87 - The Boston Globe Skip to main content

Arthur Ortenberg, a Liz Claiborne founder, dies at 87

NEW YORK — Arthur Ortenberg, who teamed up with his wife, the designer Liz Claiborne, and a third partner to build a billion-dollar enterprise clothing career women in stylish but casual outfits at moderate prices, died Monday in Manhattan. He was 87.

The cause was complications of pneumonia.

Known as “Liz and Art” in the industry they helped revolutionize, the couple responded to women streaming into the workforce in the 1970s by creating a line of colorful, imaginatively styled tops and bottoms that could be mixed and matched.