The Tony Awards—which honor the best of Broadway—are always an entertaining night for theater fans. For fashion fans? Not so much. Despite the fact that are typically quite a few A-listers at the ceremony every year, the Tonys red carpet is a pretty ho-hum affair, compared to events like the Oscars and the Grammys. That clearly changed this year, largely thanks to fashion’s favorite fairy godmother Anna Wintour.
According to the New York Times, the Vogue editor in chief—an avid theatergoer—was asked to help boost the profile of the awards this year, and recruited fashion PR firm KCD to make sure several nominees were wearing looks by top designers. The Times also reported that KCD suggested that the arrival times for the nominees and presenters be staggered, leading to less clutter and more organization—clearly resulting in a more glamorous red carpet.
It seems Wintour also recruited a gaggle of top models and Vogue-approved personalities to the mix—it’s not often you see the likes of Joan Smalls, Hilary Rhoda, Kendall Jenner, Ivanka Trump, Bella Hadid, and Emily Ratajkowski at the Tonys—a smart headline-getting move, though one that might have serious theater fans wondering why the Tony Awards needs to be a carbon copy of the Met Gala.
Still, Anna’s plan worked: Most attendees looked as if they easily could have been walking the Met Gala red carpet, with designers like Delpozo, Narcisso Rodriguez, Calvin Klein, J. Mendel, and Prabal Gurung represented.
Click through the gallery above to see the best looks from Broadway’s biggest night.
