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 In my new life, remember .. it's not the 'R' word, but the 'F' word ... "Fulfillment of a new kind." preview of Canadian fashion I am currently sketching for Inside Fashion by Audrey Gostlin. Click on the images below to view all my sketches for the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Inside Fashion featuring Canadian Designers.
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The "Summer of Love" Event
Part of LuminaTO 2007
The Summer of Love was a five hour music fest celebrating the Yorkville scene of the 60s and its relevance to the birth of Toronto as a major music centre. It took place in the afternoon in Yorkville Park alongside Cumberland St (opposite where Marilyn's old boutique was) just west of Bellair. To read more CLICK HERE...
FASHION CARES 2006
Marilyn Brooks has been in almost every Fashion Cares Show in the last 20 years. E L L E Canada
May 2005 
Marilyn Brooks in her retirement is still making news from all 4 decades she was in fashion! A forerunner in the 60's, not only for her unique fashion and big production fashion shows ... but also documenting through photography each season of her collections!
E L L E F L A S H B A C K PEEKABOOTORONTO, 1967 
 If you haven't worked up the courage to slip into your Catwoman ensemble on October 31, don't fret. The purrfect way to prowl is in disguise. Just ask Toronto designer and Halloween enthusiast Marilyn Brooks, who often used masks - like this one from 1967 - in her runway shows.
"Fashion can be fantasy", she says. "I always put a bit of masquerade in my shows to convey that message." I met with Rita Silvan, Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Magazine, she asked me to show her pictures of some of my past collections ... and they chose from my 1988 collection (below).
A few weeks after this session, there was a gala celebrating my 25th anniversary in Canadian fashion. Text: Marilyn Brooks CLOTHESLINES
by Marylou Luther Marylou Luther is currently Fashion Editor for Clotheslines, a weekly column on fashion. Question:
The coat illustrated here is called a patchwork sampler by its designer, Marilyn Brooks. The 72 percent wool / 28 percent silk fabrics were created by Brooks in Austria by Jill Silk. The bias-cut coat ($235) is from a patchwork group that also includes a bustier ($125), blazer ($230), 36-inch skirt ($180) and shirt ($175). MARILYN BROOKS RECIPIENT OF THE ORDER OF ONTARIO FOR 2000 For more than 37 years, Marilyn Brooks has been one of Canada's leading fashion designers. She is always looking for  new ways to enhance the exposure of her designs and those of other Canadian designers.
In 1988, February 4th was officially declared "Marilyn Brooks Day" in Toronto in recognition of her 25 years in the Canadian fashion Industry.
As well as mentoring young talent, Ms. Brooks has dedicated countless hours to fundraising efforts for organizations and causes such as AIDS, UNICEF, Parkinson's and the Cabbagetown Youth Centre. Her efforts have been appreciated and recognized by numerous awards and accolades.
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Big, brassy and bold - that was the '80s. To capture the over-the-top mood, I had mixed graphic stripes with Parisian-inspired suspenders, belts and berets. Toronto's "it" photographer, Jim Allen - fresh from the New York fashion scene, where he photographed top models such as Claudia Schiffer - was hired to shoot my spring collection.
At the show that night, a mix of my past and present designs were worn by models from the '60s and '70s. Ivana Trump, the most famous of my girls, sent her regrets, but Cathie Shirriff made a cameo on the catwalk, while emcees Andrea Martin and Hagood Hardy entertained the crowd. The most memorable moment? Toronto's mayor declared February 3, 1988, Marilyn Brooks Day.
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