Donald Brooks
Donald Brooks (1928-2005) was a prominent American fashion designer who created ready-to-wear collections and custom apparel as well as costumes for movies and theater. He, Bill Blass, and Geoffrey Beene were known as “the three B's of fashion.”
Born Donald Marc Blumberg in New Haven, Connecticut, he was always interested in theater, arriving there professionally through fashion. He studied at Syracuse University and then at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design. After graduating in 1950, he designed window displays for the department store Lord & Taylor and caught the eye of the president, Dorothy Shaver, who asked him to design a collection for the store.
He was hired by Townley Frocks in the late 1950s to replace the late Claire McCardell, and in the mid-1960s he started his own collection, financed by Ben Shaw, who also supported the early collections of Beene, Oscar de la Renta, Halston, and Norman Norell. Brooks focused on simple designs made from beautiful fabrics, and he was noted for his streamlined silhouettes and use of bold prints. Over the years he expanded from sportswear to create evening and dinner clothes as well.
