Tony Award-winning costume designer Ann Hould-Ward has been selected to receive the inaugural Patricia Zipprodt Award for Innovative Costume Design by the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).
Hould-Ward, a protegee of the late costume designer Zipprodt, won a Tony for her designs for Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
The award will be presented at the Players Club on May 3 by FIT president Dr. Joyce Brown, honorary chair Joel Grey, and co-chairs Marion Seldes and Connie Zipprodt-Zonka.
FIT established the award program last year as the institute expands its theatre profile through its connection to Zipprodt. Zipprodt was a frequent Tony Award winner and nominee. She won three Tonys for Fiddler on the Roof in 1965, Cabaret in 1967, and Sweet Charity in 1986. Among her Tony noms are Zorba in 1969, Pippin in 1973, Chicago in 1976, and Shogun: The Musical in 1991.
FIT has long-term plans of expanding its curriculum and setting up joint programs with sister State University of New York (SUNY) schools to share design facilities and programs.
Its awards program will honor lifetime achievement and best of Broadway season winners. The winners will be chosen by a committee consisting of Tony winner David Sadler, fashion designer Donald Brooks, American Theatre Wing's Isabelle Stevenson, and two FIT faculty members.