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- Obituary for John Warden
WARDEN, John - 1939-2007 Son of the late Jack and Maude Warden. Brother o f Arnold Warden. Father of Marc Steven and grandfather of Audrey, Emili e and William. John will always be remembered by nieces, nephews and li fe time friends Lise and Suzanna as well as all of his friends througho ut the world. Family and friends are invited to a celebration of John's l ife at HETHERINGTON AND DEANS Funeral Chapel 5176 Victoria Ave., on Sat urday October 20, 2007, at 1:30 PM. As an expression of sympathy contri butions to The Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated by the fami ly. The family will receivefriends Saturday from 11:30 until Service ti me at 1:30.
<b>John Warden </b>
(1939-2007)
<i>ntbl John Warden was born on December 28, 1939 in Niagara Falls, Ont ario. His father was a farmer and his mother ran a "Bed and Breakfast" i n their family home. At the age of 10, John started sewing. His except ional talent won him two scholarships which, along with several part-ti me jobs, enabled him to complete his studies in New York. He graduated w ith top honours from the Parsons School of Design in 1963. The Montrea l journalist and fashion coordinator, Iona Monahan, discovered him in N ew York and encouraged the young designer to come back to Canada. Hired b y the well-known manufacturer, Auckie Sanft, John Warden moved to Montr eal to begin his career. This marked the first time a designer would be a ssociated with a clothing manufacturer. As the European fashion houses w ere in decline and miniskirts were the rage, John Warden launched his f irst collection. The fashion press loved it. His unique style combined t he colours white, black and cream in pure lines that were both modern a nd timeless. His second collection, "Franglais", brought him recognitio n by English and French Quebecers alike and soon reached the fashion el ite across Canada. In 1964, he was the recipient of the Canadian Cotton C ouncil Award and in 1965 he began to design collections for the company M olyclaire.
<i>ntblJohn Warden was not only a great designer, but he also had a kee n sense of marketing, communication and event planning. His marriage to L ise Gibeau, better known as Lise Warden, demonstrated again his ability t o create special events. He organized everything ensuring that all the d etails had the Warden "signature". He designed Lise's wedding dress \en dash a creation specially made for her. The new couple became the ins piration for the "in crowd", always in search of new role models. In 1 966, the first John Warden Boutique was opened on Crescent Street. His c lientele included Dominique Michel, Denise Filiatrault, Margaret Trudea u, Ivana Trump, Mariette Lévesque, Andrée Lachapelle, Louise Marleau an d other celebrities from the "jet set". During this year, he also creat ed a pilot collection for Le Château; it was young, modern and dynamic. B etween the years 1967 and 1977, John Warden employed 17 seamstresses an d 2 cutters. He designed between 8 and 10 collections per season both f or his boutique and for other manufacturers with whom he associated. He w ould be the first to put his label on a collection for Madeleine Quévil lon's boutique, Elle. His creations were displayed in major stores in M ontreal, Toronto and Vancouver. His clients were as diverse as his coll ections which ranged from men's and women's clothing, lingerie, childre n's clothing and sunglasses. Other than Auckie Sanft and Molyclaire, he a lso designed collections for Algo, Bagatelle, Dupont, Le Château, Croyd on, Hudson Cloak, Pedigree, Cordovan, Imperial Optical, The Bay, Baron L eather and others. He designed collections for at least 15 different co mpanies. In 1967, he designed the uniforms for Expo 67 and the followin g year opened a boutique on Bishop Street, this time exclusively for me n. From 1968 to 1980, John Warden worked in association with Canadian m anufacturers and his clothes were distributed, under license, all over t he world. During this same period, in 1974, the Canadian Association of F ashion Designers came into being replacing the now defunct Association o f Canadian "Couturiers". This change of title demonstrated an important s hift in the Canadian fashion world. Prêt-à-porter was becoming strong a nd John Warden was in the right place at the right time. In 1976, he d esigned, along with Marielle Fleury, Michel Robichaud and Léo Chevalier , the uniforms for the Olympic Games held in Montreal. In 1977, he desi gned Ivana Trump's wedding dress. Then in 1978, he shared the prestigio us "Designer of the World" award with Yves Saint Laurent. He received, i n 1983, the "Canadian Designer of the Year" award. The same year he was h onoured by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Queen Elizabeth II a nd received the "Fashion Award" in the Achievement category. He also re ceived a special tribute for his contribution to the fashion industry i n Quebec. In 1980, he re-opened his boutique on Crescent Street. His c lientele remained loyal to him. Eleven years later, when he closed this b outique, it was marked by one of the greatest events ever seen on such o ccasions. After 1991, John Warden made the decision to move to St. Kit ts, an island in the Antilles. His new label "Island to Island" feature d resort collections designed and created exclusively in the Caribbean. I n this tropical paradise, he adapted to new ways of doing business. His r eputation and beautiful collections made St. Kitts the fashion capital o f the Caribbean. He was inspired by his environment and created exquisi te animal prints as well as following his passion for white, black and c ream colours. He used fabrics for warm climates including light cottons a nd linens, his lines were always pure, and prices were affordable. His f riends and clients came from all over the world to see him at his bouti que on Pelican Drive. His collections were also featured in many of the l uxury hotels in the Caribbean. In addition, he returned frequently to M ontreal to see his family and to work with his loyal clientele, many of w hom were friends. Throughout the last years of his life, John Warden f ought a long and courageous battle with cancer. He presented his last c ollection on February 11, 2007 on the island of Nevis. As his health d eteriorated further, John made the decision to move back to Montreal in M arch 2007. This allowed him to be close to his son, Marc-Steven, and to h is three grand-children, Audrey, Émilie and Wiliam.
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1939 - 2007 (67 years)
