JOHN WINNIFORD “WINN” MORTON was a designer born on this date (d: 2022); Born in Lancaster, TX, Winn briefly attended Southern Methodist University, before being accepted into the Ringling School of Art. From there Winn moved to New York to attend Parsons School of Design. In 1949, he joined the United Scenic Artists Union.

Early career highlights include “The Arthur Godfrey Show” at CBS, the Roxy Theater, and the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair for Olympic ice skater Dick Button. Bandleader Guy Lombardo engaged Winn for 17 years to design hundreds of costumes for the Jones Beach Marine Theater. In 1975, Winn was retained as Art Director for Six Flags Show Productions. Winn continued to design costumes for the Hanneford Circus and Circus Vargas, including for performers, ringmasters, and elephants.

In 1985, Winn designed “The Living Unicorn” for the Ringling Brothers Circus, for the 115th Edition of the “Greatest Show on Earth.” Beginning in 1982, Winn designed costumes for the Texas Rose Festival, and continued to do so for more than 35 years. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Winn also designed for extravagant charity balls and lavish parties for prominent Dallas socialites. In 2007, Winn was the Exhibition Designer for “Balenciaga and His Legacy: Haute Couture from the Texas Fashion Collection” at the Meadows Museum in Dallas. In 2019, film producer and director Ashley Bush made a short film titled “The Queen’s New Clothes” which captured the essence of Winn Morton and the scope of his work. That same year, Winn retired at 91, after designing costumes and sets for his last Texas Rose Festival pageant. There are few designers of his era who were continuously productive for over seven decades.