From Lupita Nyong’o and Jessica Chastain: 6 of our favourite looks at the 2023 Tony Awards
From Lupita Nyong’o to J Harrison Ghee, these are the stars who put their best foot forward
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The red carpet at the 2023 Tony Awards on Sunday night (11 June) was awash with some of the biggest names on Broadway, as stars turned up in their finery.
The annual ceremony has been recognising the biggest achievements in theatre since 1947.
This year, the show was hosted by Ariana DeBose, who made a statement when she opened the show by referring to a “blank script” due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike in pursuit of a fair deal.
Meanwhile, the two biggest awards of the night were clinched by Leopoldstadt for Best New Play and Kimberly Akimbo was named Best New Musical. You can see the full list of Tony Awards winners here.
Yet among the dozens of actors, musicians and performers who strutted down the red carpet, only a few truly dazzled with their outstanding sartorial choices.
Here are our six favourite looks from the 2023 Tony Awards.
Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita Nyong’o’s striking look became a talking point among fans watching the awards show.
The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star wore a metallic custom-made breastplate moulded over her own chest.
The silver breastplate, which was created by Pakistani artist Misha Japanwala, covered the front of Nyong’o’s entire torso, from her neck to her waist.
The actor wore a black velvet suit jacket and trousers over the piece and accessorised with a Venezia box clutch by The Bella Rosa Collection, along with large diamond earrings and geometric silver rings.
It wasn’t just her outfit that turned heads. Nyong’o also sported an intricate henna tattoo on her shaved scalp by artist Sabeen Marghboob
Sharing her look on Instagram, Nyong’o wrote: “Honoured, humbled, strengthened and energised to don this breastplate created by @mishajapanwala, which she cast and moulded of my body.”
Dylan Mulvaney
Comedian and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney debuted a dramatically different hairstyle at this year’s Tony Awards.
The transgender rights activist swapped her usually dark brunette hairstyle for platinum tresses, which were styled as wavy strands framing her face.
She wore a sparkly black off-the-shoulder dress with a corset-style waist and a full skirt by Christian Siriano.
Mulvaney first showed off her new hair in an Instagram post on Friday (9 June) and last night was the first time she wore it out at a public event.
J Harrison Ghee
Some Like It Hot star J Harrison Ghee made history at this year’s Tony Awards when they became one of the first openly non-binary actors to win an award.
Ghee made a splash on the red carpet in a bright blue structured gown with a plunging neckline and off-the-shoulder collar. They wore matching blue opera gloves, as well as a layered choker around their neck and dangling earrings, as well as a large diamond ring on their left pinky finger.
On social media, fans described Ghee’s dress as “gorgeous”, with one person writing: “This is a fabulous outfit J Harrison Ghee got on, we love when winners dress to win.”
The 32-year-old won Best Lead Actor in a Musical for their dual role in Some Like It Hot and dedicated their award to “every trans, nonbinary, gender nonconforming human who was ever told you couldn’t be seen”.
They continued: “People often see me and say, ‘Well, I could never wear that or I can never do that’ and this whole season, I have been living in this mantra: You have to free yourself to see yourself.”
Jessica Chastain
Jessica Chastain was a bright ray of sunshine as she walked down the red carpet in a bold yellow Gucci down with a matching cape.
The A Doll’s House star’s stunning dress featured a sweetheart neckline and a bodice that cinched in at her waist. The skirt fell in straight, tiny ruffles, while her cape swept dramatically across the floor as she walked.
Chastain kept her red hair off her face in a sleek ponytail and wore a large chain necklace with an oversized glittering pendant.
She was nominated for Best Actress (Play) alongside Jodi Comer (Prima Facie), Jessica Hecht (Summer, 1976) and Audra McDonald (Ohio State Murders). Comer emerged victorious at the end of the night.
A Doll’s House was also nominated for a number of awards, including best play revival, best supporting actor for Arian Moayed, and best direction for Jamie Lloyd.
Alex Newell
Alongside Harrison Ghee, Alex Newell also became one of the first openly non-binary actors to clinch a Tony Award last night.
Newell won Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for their part in the 2022 musical Shucked.
The 30-year-old star was dressed to the nines for the evening in a sparkly gold off-the-shoulder gown with a corset waist and draped floor-length skirt.
In their acceptance speech, Newell thanked the crew, cast and creative team behind Shucked and their mother for “loving me unconditionally”.
They added: “Thank you for seeing me, Broadway. I should not be up here as a queer nonbinary fat Black lil baby from Massachusetts.
“To anyone that thinks they can’t do it, I’m going to look you dead in your face [and say] that you can do anything you put your mind to.”
Stephanie Hsu
The Everything Everywhere All At Once star brought goth glam to the Tony Awards in a beautifully structured black off-the-shoulder gown by Markarian.
The structured dress featured puff sleeves and a fitted bodice, with a voluminous skirt. Hsu kept her jewellery simple by wearing dangling pearl earrings that stood out against her jet-black hair.
Although Hsu is best known for her role in the Oscar-winning film, as she starred alongside Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, she has regularly appeared in Broadway musicals including Be More Chill and Spongebob Squarepants The Musical.
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