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After 36 years, Liz Claiborne is changing its name.

The style stalwart will be known as Fifth & Pacific Cos. Inc., starting in May.

Back in October, the company announced that it was shuttering its namesake brand, which it sold to J.C. Penney, and others, in order to focus on bolstering profits of its most profitable brands: Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand and Kate Spade.

"We wanted a name that somehow captured the intrinsically American element of what we do, even though these are global brands... we talked about the lurking drama of New York and Los Angeles really being a defining element of what we are as a company," CEO William L. McComb told Women's Wear Daily.

Liz Claiborne owned more fashion brands than we'd realized: they also sold off Monet, kensie, kensiegirl, Mac & Jac, Dana Buchman and Mexx last year.

But there might be good news to come: Liz Claiborne stock was tentatively climbing at the end of 2011; we'll see how the new announcement plays into the struggling company's financials.