Ariana DeBose 2022 Tonys Dress: Photos, Details From Stylists

Ariana DeBose at the 75th Annual Tony Awards held at Radio City Music Hall on June 12th, 2022 in New York City. Michael Buckner for WWD

Ariana DeBose isn’t slowing down her standout style trajectory.

After a history-making awards season where DeBose won virtually every award for her role in “West Side Story” — most notably an Academy Award — that included many memorable style moments, the Oscar-winning actress made her way to the 2022 Tony Awards Sunday night as the host of the 75th edition.

DeBose worked with her stylists Zadrian Smith and Sarah Edmiston to wear an array of looks custom made by Boss, including a black sequined cutout dress she wore on the red carpet. She paired the look with sustainable diamond jewelry from Or & Elle.

“For Ariana’s many Tonys looks, we started by conceptualizing the direction we wanted to go in for this special moment,” Smith said. “The Broadway community is so deeply personal to her, so we were looking for dresses that felt suitably glamorous while still having an appropriate level of polish befitting a host. As Ariana said so eloquently, the night was also about the many nominees and incredible shows being honored, so what she wore also had to convey a feeling of being special while not making her the center of attention.”

Ariana DeBose in Boss at the 2022 Tonys — Ariana DeBose getting ready for the 2022 Tonys Courtesy of Zadrian Smith

DeBose, whose had several roles on Broadway, including as The Bullet in “Hamilton” and Disco Donna in “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical,” started off the Tonys with a mashup of Broadway classics paying homage to shows like “Hamilton,” “Hairspray,” “Chicago” and more. Her role in “Summer” resulted in her first Tony nomination in 2018.

Smith, Edmiston and DeBose worked closely with the Boss team to create the looks for the Tony’s. It was important for the three creatives to stay authentic to DeBose’s eclectic style through all her outfit changes.

“Ariana constantly loves to play with expectations of a leading lady and blur the lines between masculine and feminine details,” Edmiston said. “Her influences are always quite classic with a twist, which is why we loved the idea of working with a heritage brand like Boss on some really elevated and unexpected options. We played with tuxedo-inspired dresses, blazers with cutouts and embellished lapels and gowns with transformative elements, which suited Ariana perfectly.”

During awards season, DeBose stood out for her style of modernized classics, regularly leaving her mark on each red carpet. The actress used her red carpet style to pay homage to her “West Side Story” character Anita by wearing two yellow dresses by Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera at the BAFTAs and Critics’ Choice Awards, respectively, that referenced the character’s iconic dress in the movie.

DeBose’s most standout awards season look came at the Oscars, when the actress wore a custom red crop top and matching trousers from Valentino to pick up her history-making award.

“It was so bold to do pants at the Oscars, and yet the lines of the look were very clean and simple,” Smith said. “This narrative at the Tonys is absolutely a continuation of that, and yet pushing one step further and exploring other ways that we can play with our fashion choices.”