{"id":783200,"date":"2026-07-06T05:12:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T05:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/783200\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T05:12:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T05:12:30","slug":"canadian-fashion-designer-marilyn-brooks-93-has-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/783200\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian fashion designer Marilyn Brooks, 93, has died"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Marilyn Brooks of Toronto is invested as a member of the Order of Canada by former governor general Michaelle Jean on behalf of Gov. Gen. Mary Simon during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, in 2022.Justin Tang\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

A fashion designer who was among the first to popularize a clothing style in Canada that was famously worn by rebellious British youths and The Beatles in the 1960s has died.<\/p>\n

Norma Meneguzzi Spall, a friend and spokesperson for Marilyn Brooks\u2019 family, said Brooks died Saturday of natural causes at the age of 93 in Toronto.<\/p>\n

Jeanne Beker, an Ontario-based fashion journalist, said she remembers Brooks\u2019 boutique, The Unicorn, was the most hip place to shop when she was a teen in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

Beker said the boutique was the first in Toronto to sell slick, colourful and polished mod-style clothing popularized by rock bands and youths partaking in the counterculture of the 1960s.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn\u2019t get cool fashion in Canada back then. There wasn\u2019t really (anything) that was leading edge, progressive, funky and a little wild,\u201d Beker said in a Sunday interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Unicorn was our mecca of mod. It was just the coolest place because Marilyn had the best clothes, the best accessories. It was just magical for all of us who really craved that Carnaby Street swagger,\u201d she added, referencing London\u2019s shopping hub.<\/p>\n

Beker said she still has the black-and-white purse that looks like a clock which she bought at The Unicorn.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarilyn was one of the main reasons that I really fell in love with fashion and all its fabulous possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spall said in a statement that Brooks was born in Albany, New York, and raised in Detroit, Michigan.<\/p>\n

She discovered she loved sewing when she was eight, Spall said. After a career in the United States, she moved to Toronto to work for a retailer.<\/p>\n

She eventually fell in love with the city and the country. In 1963, she opened The Unicorn in Toronto\u2019s lively Gerrard Street West neighbourhood with her husband.<\/p>\n

Brooks then closed The Unicorn in 1970 and launched a string of retail stores.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarilyn went on to pioneer a vertical fashion business model that amalgamated designing, manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing and led to the launch and expansion of \u2018Marilyn Brooks Boutiques\u2019 in Canada and the U.S.,\u201d Spall said.<\/p>\n

As her stores evolved, so did Brooks\u2019 style.<\/p>\n

A chain bra, black satin hot pants, which have made a comeback in recent years, and a vinyl jumpsuit are among the signature pieces she designed in her years of work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese were clothes for women of all ages,\u201d Beker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the sort of crazy mod thing passed, all through the \u201980s and the \u201990s, Marilyn was always making really wonderful clothing. Clothing that was figure-friendly clothing, optimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beker said Brooks also mentored a lot of young designers who went on to make their on own marks in Canada\u2019s fashion industry.<\/p>\n

Brooks took women on international trips, Beker added, to show them diverse fashion scenes.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was just a great, great source of inspiration to so many people,\u201d Beker said.<\/p>\n

While receiving the Order of Canada in 2022, Brooks was recognized as one of Canada\u2019s most iconic fashion designers.<\/p>\n

In 1988, the City of Toronto declared Feb. 4 Marilyn Brooks Day for her contributions to Canada\u2019s fashion and retail landscape.<\/p>\n

Spall said Marilyn is survived by her husband of 44 years, Kennedy Coles.<\/p>\n

Beker encouraged Canadian fashionistas to remember Brooks this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cRifle through the stash there and see if you can find any vintage Marilyn Brooks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can all dress up in our old mod finery, wear a polka-dot scarf, do something funky. Step out of your your comfort zone and have fun. Remember to be playful with fashion. <\/p>\n

\u201cMarilyn would really appreciate that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Marilyn Brooks of Toronto is invested as a member of the Order of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":783201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,3302,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-783200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-toronto","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=783200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}