Background
He was born as Donald Marc Blumberg in New Haven, Connecticut on January 9, 1928.
He was born as Donald Marc Blumberg in New Haven, Connecticut on January 9, 1928.
Brooks attended Syracuse University followed by the Yale University School of Drama, where he first decided to become a costume and clothing designer. He studied design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and then the Parsons School of Design in New New York
Though he was very successful, if not as famous as some of his contemporaries, his passion was his work for the stage and film, designing over 3500 costumes. Brooks" first job in the fashion industry was as a window designer for department store Lord & Taylor. He attracted the attention of Dorothy Shaver, the store"s president, who hired him to design a clothing line that year.
By the 1960s, Brooks was a preeminent figure in American fashion, cited by the New York Times as one of "the three B"s of fashion" alongside Bill Blass and Geoffrey Beene.
He opened his first store in 1963. He died on August 1, 2005 at Stony Brook University Hospital in Stony Brook, New New York
His efforts were recognized by an Emmy Award and numerous other honors. He was also nominated three times for the Academy Award and once for a Tony. In addition to his work on Seventh Avenue, Mr. Brooks also designed the costumes for numerous Broadway plays, including Promises, Promises, Number Strings, and Barefoot in the Park. Television shows including The Letter, The Two Mistress Grenvilles; and feature length motion pictures such as Star!, Darling Lili and The Cardinal, being nominated for the Academy Award for Costume Design for all three films. His awards include The New York Drama Critics Award, a Tony nomination, and the Emmy Award. He was also the recipient of three Coty Awards for fashion and the Parsons" Medal of Distinction.
