Afro-Latino Tony nominee Emilio Sosa talks Broadway costume design

Growing up in the South Bronx section of New York City, Emilio Sosa loved to spend his spare time drawing and painting—”Then, around 13, 14, I caught the fashion bug,” he said. “I was working class. My family, my parents didn’t really understand what I wanted to do, but they supported me.”

Sosa’s parents always made sure he had the tools he needed, like a wallet case and new pencils. “They knew this art and painting they were passionate about.”

It paid off.

On Sunday night, Sosa will be at the 76th Annual Tony Awards—the highest honor in the world—as a dual nominee for Best Costume Design for a Play. He was nominated twice in his category, for his work in the films “Ain’t No Mo” and “Good Night, Oscar”.

caps heavy period for Sosa, who recently designed costumes for Broadway’s “1776,” “Sweeney Todd,” and “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical.”

The New York Times called Sosa “the toughest guy to work on Broadway,” because He designed 450 uniforms for 94 representatives in the 2022-23 season.

Sosa was born in the Dominican Republic, and his Afro-Latino roots have always been an inspiration to him. “The most linear connection between my upbringing and my work is color,” he said. “Color in our culture is not taboo. You can wear any color you want at any time of the year. There are no laws. And so I’ve always been interested in color and how it conveys emotion—which can be very powerful and subliminal.”

As a young man, Sosa was initially interested in becoming a fashion designer. Then a summer job while a student at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn led him to fashion design.

Since then, he has had an extraordinarily diverse career. He was the runner-up on TV’s “Project Runway” in 2010 and competed in “Project Runway All-Stars” in 2012. He has engineered for Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, and the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.

His many productions on Broadway include “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” “Motown: The Musical,” and “On Your Feet!”

In 2021, it becomes Sosa first latino To be president of the American Theater Wing, the group presenting the Tony Awards with the Broadway League.

Sosa has compared his career to that of other people of color in fields that lack diversity. “The challenges I faced are similar to, say, what a corporate lawyer or banker faces in industries where we are not well represented.”

Being “first” in anything and in any field comes with a lot of responsibility, he said. “It’s nice to be celebrated and appreciated, but I can look back and see so many brilliant designers of color who never got a break because it wasn’t their time or because the doors weren’t open for them.”

Tonys family move uptown, near “mi gente”

This year’s Tony Awards are particularly meaningful to Sosa. And for the first time, it will take place in Washington Heights, the predominantly Latino neighborhood that inspired the musical In the Heights.

“Mi gente! [My people!] We will celebrate! Sosa said in reaction to the new venue for the awards show.

The show will be broadcast live on CBS/Paramount+ from history United Palace Theatre. The evening’s host will be Ariana DeBose, an Afro-Latina Broadway veteran who won an Academy Award for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s latest film version of West Side Story.

Moving the Tony Awards uptown is one way the American Theater Wing hopes to make Broadway visible to a more diverse audience.

Broadway performers and audiences are largely white. Despite growing up in New York, Sosa didn’t see a Broadway show until he was 20 years old.

He said, “That says a lot about how traditional theater doesn’t reach potential audiences. So just showing uptown, saying to the community that we’re part of you, that theater should be for everyone.”

Frank DeLila, Inc Entertainment journalist For Spectrum News/New York One, you think holding the Tony Awards in Washington Heights would be good for the neighborhood, as well as the theater community.

“The United Palace is truly one of the coolest places in town, so why not bring some of Broadway to Washington Heights?” He said. “Broadway is a brand, a great mix of creativity, so why limit it to the theater district?”

He described Delilah Sosa as “the ultimate multitasker” and “one of the leaders of the theatrical community in his designs and work.” Delilah remembers This is in “On Your Feet!” Sosa reinvented some of Gloria Estefan’s iconic looks while putting his own spin on them: “I remember the vibrant colors he put on stage. … This show was a personal favourite.”

Adrian Jones, Professor Fashion at the Pratt Institute!, said that “even when Emilio makes time pieces, as in ‘Sweeney Todd’, he still manages to show his signature within that frame.” Part of his talent, she said, was his ability to make his designs relevant and appropriate for a wide variety of genres.

Jones conceived and nurtured it Black dress gallerywhich honors black designers and addresses a lack of diversity in the fashion and design worlds. “Emilio’s varied career path is actually not uncommon in the fashion and design industries,” she said. “In these areas, there is no linear path. As creators we know and we have to accept that. People like Emilio, they work, they work, they work 18 hours a day, because they love what they do.”

Sosa is optimistic that the world of theater will continue to evolve and diversify. For him, that means more diverse producers and writers — and for audiences to support all forms of theatre, not just Broadway productions.

Sosa cited his work on the People’s Theater Project, Social Justice Group It aims to prioritize immigrants and people of color on stage, as an example of this kind of effort. “We have to expand the tent. We have to invest in our own talents early on and not just wait for others to survey or validate us.”

For aspiring fashion designers and other young people interested in stage careers, Sosa advised: “Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Just be you. When you can be your true self everywhere and in every room, that’s powerful.”

He said, “Be you, and love what you do.” “Because that’s what will keep you going, not the money or any appreciation. It’s the work. You gotta love it, baby. You gotta love it.”