2025 Tony Award Winners’ Outfits - Ranked
Awards shows are often also fashion shows, and the Tonys are no different! I love theatre. My dream has always been to go to the Tony Awards (and, okay, maybe win one). I love theatre. I have a theatre degree. Like any person who dreams of an awards show, I think about what I would wear.
(Definitely not my duct tape prom dress.)
But since I have to watch the Tonys from over 1,000 miles away, my participation is limited to crying during the 10th-anniversary performance from Hamilton and judging outfits.
Let’s talk about the folks who won Tonys for acting in 2025 and what they wore! These are my very expert rankings and thoughts (as someone who wanted to be a fashion designer back when she was 12).
8. Sarah Snook – Lead Actress in a Play
Show: The Picture of Dorian Gray (how cool is that?!)
What you may know her from: Succession
Who designed her clothes: Richard Quinn
What I love: The texture!
What I’m not into: The shape and the color.
Just some thoughts…
I love it when clothing looks like it would feel interesting to the touch. It just adds something a little special and outside the normal eye-catching options of sparkles and patterns.
However, the flesh color and shoulder pads make this look messy somehow. I think if either one of those was different, the outfit would be nearly perfect. (Imagine this in emerald green!)
7. Nicole Scherzinger – Lead Actress in a Musical
Show: Sunset Boulevard
What you may know her from: The Masked Singer or that one episode of How I Met Your Mother.
Who designed her clothes: Rodarte
What I love: The fit.
What I’m not into: It’s very plain for a show like the Tonys.
Just some thoughts…
Red was certainly a choice.
I don’t think it’s political to say that someone on her team should’ve advised her against red if she wanted to distance herself from that whole situation.
6. Francis Jue - Featured Actor in a Play
Show: Yellowface
Who designed his clothes: Alvin Ing (kind of)
What you may know him from: Madam Secretary
What I love: The story behind it.
What I’m not into: I would be a real jerk if I put anything here.
Just some thoughts…
In 1976, legendary actor Alvin Ing had this tuxedo made for himself to wear on the opening night of Pacific Overtures. Twenty years ago, Ing gave this tuxedo to Francis Jue, making him promise to wear it when – not if – he won a Tony Award.
When Jue approached the state, I thought, “he looks nice, but…meh” because it was, at first glance, just another tux. But with the story behind it, it becomes something magical.
5. Jak Malone - Featured Actor in a Musical
Show: Operation Mincemeat
Who designed his clothes: Unsure
What you may know him from: Unless you’re a theatre person, you probably don’t know him from anything…yet.
What I love: How many details there are! Especially love the pants.
What I’m not into: how fine some of the designs are.
Just some thoughts…
I love clothes with a lot of details on them. I think the outfit is gorgeous, especially close-up. The problem is that from a distance, it’s hard to tell what’s happening on the jacket, which can make it look a bit messy. But seriously, Jak, who designed this? Love it!
4. Darren Criss – Lead Actor in a Musical
Show: Maybe Happy Ending
What you may know him from: Glee
Who designed his clothes: Unknown
What I love: The combo of structure and flow!
What I’m not into: Mixed feelings on where the waist lands.
Just some thoughts…
Christian Siriano designed the suit Darren Criss wore on the red carpet before the show, but I couldn’t find who designed this one (which he wore when accepting his award). And, as much as I love Siriano’s work, I didn’t like that other suit as much!
The very tailored look of the top and the extreme flowiness of the pants? This creates SO much movement! It’s a great mix of modern and classic. I would wear this.
I have mixed feelings about where the waist hits. From some angles, it makes him look much shorter. From others, it’s fine. Maybe tailoring them up just a fraction of an inch higher would help?
3. Cole Escola - Lead Actor in a Play
Show: Oh, Mary!
Who designed their clothes: Wiederhoft
What you may know them from: At Home with Amy Sedaris
What I love: The chest hair!
What I’m not into: The pattern on the corset.
Just some thoughts…
Cole Escola took inspiration from Bernadette Peters’ 1999 Tony’s dress with this one, and it’s such a great idea! The dress fits them well, and the pop of chest hair (I never thought I’d say that…) adds a bit of fun to the classic princessy look. (Why didn’t Bernadette think of this?!)
However, I’m glad that Cole didn’t do a direct copy of Bernadette’s dress, but one thing I felt her dress excelled at was the corset pattern. Hers had a few different things in different colors, all purposefully placed. Cole’s corset had a bow pattern (addition?) that looked a bit like an afterthought. A plain corset may have been a better option.
2. Kara Young – Featured Actress in a Play
Show: Purpose
Who designed her clothes: Thom Browne
What you may know her from: The Staircase
What I love: The great mix of traditionally male and female clothing into a cohesive look.
What I’m not into: The fabric.
Just some thoughts…
I am an absolute sucker for tuxedo-type dresses. They look good on everyone who executes them well – and Kara Young certainly did that here! It’s the perfect balance of flowing and structured.
I don’t dig this kind of fabric, though. It reminds me of the prom dresses we wore when I was in high school.
Oh, but she gets TWO pictures because the skirt part came off when she won her award. I hadn’t seen her outfit until that moment and had no idea it had a fabulous skirt; I still gasped aloud! Gorgeous, flattering, and looked comfortable while having a great fit.
1. Natalie Venetia Belcon – Featured Actress in a Musical
Show: Buena Vista Social Club
Who designed her clothes: Christian Siriano
What you may know her from: Episodes of things here and there (very helpful, I know!)
What I love: Literally everything.
What I’m not into: I mean, I guess it looks like it would be really warm.
Just some thoughts…
No. Notes.
I love the color, the feathers, the theatricality. It’s the perfect hybrid of costume and formalwear. It doesn’t distract or block anyone’s view. It’s just perfect.
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