Irene Sharaff (1910 – 1993)Irene Sharaff is recognized as one of the most celebrated costume designers for Broadway and Hollywood. After training in fashion illustration, she assisted noted designer and costume historian Aline Bernstein. Like her mentor, she was able to combine her knowledge of historical detail into the requirements of each individual project. Praised for her manipulation of color and historic detail, Sharaff costumed over 50 Broadway plays and musicals and received 8 Tony™ nominations, winning for The King and I, as well as dance works for Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine. Equally at home in Hollywood, she earned 15 Oscar™ nominations, winning for West Side Story. She received the Theatre Development Fund’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. That service organization has also established an annual Irene Sharaff Awards program which honors Lifetime Achievement, a Young Master, and a Master Artisan (costume shop, millinery, shoemaker, etc.) for their contributions to the field.