Liz Lange
Liz Lange Biography
Liz Lange, founder and president of Liz Lange Maternity, is a fashion and retail pioneer. Armed with the philosophy that women should look and feel beautiful during pregnancy, she has single-handedly revolutionized maternity style and society’s perception of pregnant women, in nine short years.
Lange’s path to success has been based on entrepreneurial instinct and on fashion industry experience. She graduated from Brown University in 1988 with a degree in Comparative Literature, and worked afterwards at both Vogue magazine and a small design firm in New York City. It was there, at the design firm, where Lange first developed the idea of maternity chic. Pregnant friends began to arrive at that company’s non-maternity showroom desperate to squeeze into anything stretchy enough to accommodate their new curves. In 1997, prior to the debut of Liz Lange Maternity, maternity clothing was frumpy and tent-like. Overly sweet details like Peter Pan-collars and bows made pregnant women appear as if they themselves were turning into babies, instead of giving birth to them. Pregnant high-profile women felt forced to go on nine-month hiatuses from the public eye out of embarrassment about their bodies. When Liz Lange opened her doors, she set out to give pregnant women the chance to purchase the same kind of sophisticated, elegant, and namely fitted clothing they were used to buying before they became pregnant, hence promoting pregnancy as an exciting, even sexy time in these women’s lives.
The fitted maternity silhouette became Lange’s calling card. In designing her first collection of eight versatile pieces, she relied on an intuitive belief that pregnant women would look more attractive and feel more confident in pieces that were cut closer to the body. This innovative design approach quickly attracted celebrities, fashion insiders, businesswomen and stay-at-home moms-to-be alike to her small boutique on Lexington Avenue in New York City. The word-of-mouth effect was bolstered by key press features in publications like The New York Times, InStyle and O, The Oprah Magazine that hailed Lange as a fashion trailblazer.
At the inception of her business, Lange was a one woman tour-de-force; she handled design, production, public relations, sales and shipping. By 2000, Lange’s business had grown to the point that she was able to open a flagship store on Madison Avenue. Today, the high-end Liz Lange Maternity Collection is sold at the three Liz Lange Maternity boutiques, at the aforementioned Madison Avenue location, in Beverly Hills and on Long Island at Wheatley Plaza. It is also sold through a bi-annual print catalog, an ecommerce website and via a national and international wholesale business. She is the only maternity designer to have shown at New York Fashion Week, once in 2001, and again in 2004. She is also the only maternity designer to be a member of the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Lange’s achievements and swift expansion drew the attention of major retailers in pursuit of licensing relationships. In 2001, Nike approached Lange to create the Liz Lange for Nike line of maternity active wear to be sold in both Lange’s boutiques and through Nike’s retail channels. To this day, Lange is the only fashion designer that Nike has ever asked to design licensed product for them.
In 2002, Lange began a design partnership with the Target. She designs the Liz Lange Maternity for Target line, the only maternity product sold in Target stores nationwide. The Liz Lange Maternity for Target line is a “masstige” collection. It allows Lange to provide the same fresh, classic, American style she is known for on the high-end to women across America at a very affordable price point and in a wider size range. Liz Lange Maternity for Target’s national television, print and online advertising campaigns have made Liz Lange a household name.
She has also enjoyed lucrative partnerships with Nikon cameras and the Bliss Spas, owned by Starwood Hotels.
For as long as she has been in business, Lange has been considered to be a source of information on maternity chic and family style. She personally responds to each and every customer email she has received since the start of her business. In 2002, her book, Liz Lange Maternity Style: How to look Fabulous during the Most Fashion-Challenged Time, was published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House. In 2006, Liz was a keynote speaker on the American Express Small Business panel, which was broadcast and webcast nationally and internationally.
Charity and community involvement also play a key role in Lange’s business acumen. She sits on the board of Fertile Hope, a charity dedicated to providing education about fertility issues to women coping with cancer. She has also sat on the Board of Baby Buggy, Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld’s organization that helps to bring gently used baby gear to families in need, helping them to plan major fundraising events. She co-chairs the American Museum of Natural History’s Family Party each year. She additionally works with the Clothes off Our Back foundation, the Elizabeth Glaser AIDS foundation and sits on CFDA’s Fashion Targets Breast Cancer committee.
Liz Lange created the “new look” in maternity clothing that is now de rigeur among pregnant celebrities and fashionable women everywhere. Having made her mark on the high-end and mass levels of the fashion industry, and having impacted the way pregnant women look, feel and live, Lange is constantly working on new projects and partnerships to expand her maternity empire.
Liz Lange lives in New York City with her husband, Jeffrey Lange, and their children Gus and Alice