"I just saw Liz for the last time last week and she said to me, 'Oh, Dana, we really had fun,' and we did. We really had a great time. She was not only my boss, but a mentor and friend."

Monika Tilley, who befriended Claiborne and her husband in the Sixties when they had neighboring houses on Fire Island, said Claiborne could often be found designing in one of the summer getaway's back rooms.

"Liz worked an awful lot. Eventually, they turned it into something very positive with all their charitable giving," Tilley said. "She always wore a black-and-white bikini. She was a woman of great definite style and she was a wonderful human being. The house was always impeccable, it was quite sparse. One of her strengths was how she kept so many friends throughout the many years," said Tilley.

Leaving Seventh Avenue as multimillionaires, Claiborne and Ortenberg were eager to build a new career in philanthropy, establishing the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation in 1984. Over the past 23 years, the foundation has funded dozens of conservation management and education programs throughout the world.

The couple spent their retirement travelling around the world and spending time in their various homes. They would spend three-and-a-half months a year in Montana, and during the summer, they would shuffle back and forth between Manhattan and Saltaire, Fire Island, and in the winter, they traveled between New York and St. Barth's.

Over the years, Claiborne was honored by countless fashion and business organizations and universities. She received an honorary degree from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1999. She was also the first woman ceo and chairwoman of a Fortune 500 firm. In 1986, Claiborne was honored by the CFDA for her distinction as an American designer, and in 2000, she received the CFDA's Humanitarian Award for the work she and Ortenberg have done through their foundation. In 1990, Ortenberg and Claiborne were inducted into the National Business Hall of Fame.

Besides her husband, she is survived by her son, Alexander Schultz, from her previous marriage, her daughter-in-law and grandson.

According to Ortenberg, Claiborne will be buried Saturday in Montana at their Triple 8 ranch. "It's near the Continental Divide with 360-degree views of the mountains and the hills. We used to ride our horses there, and there are two lovely trees where she'll be buried," said Ortenberg. A memorial service will be held at a later date.