TORONTO – A Canadian fashion designer who popularized a clothing style that was famously worn by rebellious British youths in the 1960s has died.
Norma Meneguzzi Spall, a friend and spokesperson for Marilyn Brooks’ family, says Brooks died Saturday of natural causes at the age of 93.
Jeanne Beker, a Ontario-based fashion journalist, says she remembers Brooks’s boutique, The Unicorn, was the most hip and funky place to shop at when she was a teen in the 1960s.
Beker says the boutique was among the first in Toronto to sell slick, colourful and polished mod-style clothing popularized by rebellious British youths and The Beatles in the 1960s.
Brooks closed The Unicorn in 1970 and launched a string of retail stores across Canada and the United States called “Marilyn Brooks Boutiques.”
While receiving the Order of Canada in 2022, she was recognized as one of Canada’s most iconic fashion designers.
In 1988, the City of Toronto declared February 4 Marilyn Brooks Day for her contributions to Canada’s fashion and retail landscape.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2026.
