The basic outline of what Claiborne accomplished as a fashion designer is well-known. In 1976, she and her husband, Art Ortenberg, invested all they had in a new business that would design clothes for women like Liz - hard-working women with limited funds, women challenging the glass ceiling of male hierarchy.
Liz Claiborne Inc. was a phenomenal business success, but it was also more: The New York Times obituary had it exactly right when it said, “Her label became an inspirational emblem.” How could that be, a commercial label truly inspirational? But it was - to millions of women.
That sense of responsibility, and its intrinsic humility, were essential qualities of Claiborne.
Liz and Art retired in 1989, devoting themselves fully to the work of the Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation. Like their business, the foundation was a pioneer, ignoring philanthropic fads. Far before it was broadly accepted, Liz and Art concluded that lasting conservation of the natural world depended on support from local people. People and nature, together.
The foundation has pursued that vision worldwide, with the same vision, discipline and modesty with which Claiborne worked in the fashion world. Their work has spanned the globe, from elephants in Kenya and tigers in Russia's Amur region, to Brazilian rainforests and Montana ranchlands, preserving the natural world and improving people's lives.
They founded the Bolle Center for People and Forests at the University of Montana; they sponsored the Red Lodge Workshop in 2001, bringing together people from all over the West to discuss ways to make collaboration work on the ground. Out of it grew the Red Lodge Clearinghouse, a Web-based support site for collaborative groups committed to resolving natural resource use conflicts in the Interior West.
Liz and Art adopted Montana. They bought a place in the Swan Valley and one near Helena. They gave quietly to many causes: Condon's Quick Response Unit, a local fire house, fire engines in Canyon Creek, land conservation, public libraries and public radio.
When French designer Claude Montana sued a Dillon-based knitting company over use of the word “Montana,” Liz and Art anonymously hired a lawyer to defend the small firm, and won.
Their Montana Heritage Project in public schools was unique, bridging generations, and changing children's understanding of their place in the world. Unlike many from other places, they were accepted fully as members of the Montana community.
There were perhaps 50 people at Claiborne's 75th birthday party. And one by one, people stood and spoke. They had known her as family, friend, business associate, boss, conservation partner. And they all said the same thing: She was truly extraordinary. As a woman, and as a human being. They spoke of their deep admiration and respect, and yes, their love. They spoke of the joy of knowing her. They spoke of her calm courage, her unflagging personal dignity, her personal beauty and beauty of spirit, her clear-eyed judgment, impeccable sense of taste, her rich, beautiful voice, her intuitive sense of fairness, her terrific smile.
With these things she did much. It is fully true to say that she changed the world - made it a better world - first for women, then for wild creatures, and over time, for all, together.
It is fully true to say that because of these things, and because of who she was, she was beloved.
Brian Kahn of Helena directs Artemis Common Ground, which seeks solutions to natural resource conflicts. He also hosts “Home Ground,” a weekly public affairs program broadcast on public radio.
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