Gregg Barnes, Wilberth Gonzalez and More Receive 2025 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards

TDF will celebrate 50 years of its exceptional Costume Collection with a glamorous party, Costumes & Cocktails, on Monday, April 7 at Tao Downtown (92 Ninth Avenue). The evening will also include the presentation of the 2025 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards, celebrating the accomplishments of the theatrical design community.

Three-time Tony® Award-winning Costume Designer Gregg Barnes will be honored with the TDF/Irene Sharaff Award for Sustained Excellence in Costume Design; costumes and textile designer Wilberth Gonzalez will receive the TDF/Kitty Leech Ascending Artist Award; milliner and artisan Arnold S. Levine, Inc. will receive the TDF/Irene Sharaff Artisan Award; and legendary scenic designer Robert Israel will be honored with the Robert L. B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. The awards presenters will be announced at a later date.

Barnes, this year’s recipient of the TDF/Irene Sharaff Award for Sustained Excellence in Costume Design, was the first designer to be honored with the TDF/Kitty Leech Ascending Artist Award (formerly the TDF/Irene Sharaff Young Master Award) in 1994.

Costumes & Cocktails will begin with a festive cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by the awards presentation, dinner, and dancing compliments of a live DJ. Guests will be treated to special pop-up performances, displays of the honorees’ celebrated work, an exhibit of some of the most prized and historic pieces from the TDF Costume Collection, and more. To salute the founding decade of the collection, the 1970’s, the evening’s theme is Disco Era.

For ticket information, visit tdf.org/cocktails.

Stephen Cabral, Director of the TDF Costume Collection, said, "For 50 years, the TDF Costume Collection has been providing rentals to groups all over the country. From a community theatre in South Carolina to a high school in Pennsylvania, from an Equity theatre in Seattle to “Saturday Night Live” at 30 Rock, we are always here to help you dress your vision. As a proud member of the Collection staff for over 30 years, it is such a profound pleasure to honor this year’s extraordinary group of theatre artists with our annual tradition of the Irene Sharaff Awards, while also celebrating the history of the TDF Costume Collection and its enduring mission."

“We couldn’t be more excited to celebrate the iconic work of this year’s Irene Sharaff awardees AND 50 incredible years of our signature Costume Collection in a way that only TDF could—with a costume party!” said Deeksha Gaur, TDF's Executive Director. “The artistry of our awardees and the history of making costumes accessible to not-for-profit theatres, high schools, and other venues across the country reflect the power of the visual aspects of theatre to excite and inspire, bringing us together. We’re thrilled to salute our honorees and the Collection in support of our ongoing mission to make the magic of theatre accessible for all.”

TDF/Irene Sharaff AWARDS VOTING COMMITTEE:

The awardees were selected by the TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards Voting Committee, which consists of leading members of the theatrical costume design community: Stephen Cabral (Chair), Dede Ayite, Gregg Barnes, Linda Cho, Traci DiGesu, Lana Fritz, Jess Goldstein, Rodney Gordon, Brian Hemesath, Allen Lee Hughes, Holly Hynes, Dan Lawson, Anna Louizos, Katherine Marshall, Mimi Maxmen, David Murin, Sally Ann Parsons, Scott Pask, Robert Perdziola, Alejo Vietti, Court Watson, and David Zinn.

Throughout her long and distinguished career, Costume Designer Irene Sharaff was known for her elegance and attention to detail. Ms. Sharaff was revered as a designer of enormous depth and intelligence, equally secure with both contemporary and period costumes. Her work exemplified the best of costume design. Such excellence is demonstrated by the honorees of this year's TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards.

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