You May Not Know Her, but You Know Her Movies

From fitting costumes on Beyoncé for the 2006 film “Dreamgirls” to brainstorming superhero costumes for the HBO original show “Watchmen,” Sharen Davis has had a prolific career in the world of costume design.

The Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning designer discovered her passion for costume design unintentionally. Davis began her career as an aspiring actress, but since landing her first gig as a costume designer on set for “Equinox,” a 1992 horror film, she hasn’t left the industry. Since that time, she has worked on classics like “Rush Hour,” “The Pursuit of Happyness,” “The Help'' and “Dreamgirls,” while also dabbling in television with “Westworld” and the pilot episode of “Watchmen.”

As a Black woman in the costume design industry, Davis has had to contend with racism throughout her career.

At this year’s Academy Awards, all of the nominees for the costume design category were white, despite some nominated movies being centered on non-white cultures, including “Mulan.” This trend is one that Davis knows all too well — she’s observed it in the Academy and the industry throughout her career. 

She says the problem in the Academy lies in the individual academy members rather than the whole industry, as the voting process for awards is private. While the identities of the over 6,000 Academy members are kept secret, a 2012 investigation by the Los Angeles Times revealed only 14% of members were under 50 years old and 94% were white. As long as the awards remain in the hands of older individuals, little progress will be made, she says. 

“People go with what they know and understand; if they don’t understand the concept of the story, they don’t vote on it even if the costumes are great,” Davis says. “It’s the individuals who need to find the beauty of the story and understand the history.”

Despite the lack of acknowledgement women of color often get in the industry, Davis was originally drawn to costume design for the art of it. The creativity involved allowed her to explore as she designed costumes herself. 

“It wasn’t just shopping for clothes. I got to design and come up with creative concepts,” Davis says. “This is the kind of show or movie I always want to design — something that really makes you use your imagination.” 

Davis had the opportunity to apply her creativity in “Rush Hour,” one of her earliest endeavors. The characters wore everyday clothing, posing a challenge as to how to make the clothes unique or imaginative. Davis combatted the problem by deciding on a color scheme for the good and evil characters, ultimately going with shades of gray for the “bad guys.” At the time, gray wasn’t in style, so it gave the characters a contemporary edge while also evoking a sour feeling. 

When costumes require more shopping than designing, Davis swaps out buttons or other accessories to add her own twist to the look. Her favorite projects, however, are ones where she is able to design the wardrobe herself from start to finish.

That opportunity came when she worked on “Dreamgirls,” which eventually landed her her second Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design. Describing it as a highlight of her career, Davis sketched every outfit and worked closely with the cast. After observing the choreography, Davis figured out what costumes would work best, taking inspiration from icons like Diana Ross and Cher. 

“Due to the fact that there was dancing, that would inspire me to figure out what they should wear,” Davis says. “A lot of my inspiration came from girl groups in the ‘60s and ‘70s to come up with original concepts.”

After making a move toward television with “Westworld,” Davis took a step into the world of comics and dystopian fiction with “Watchmen.” She designed for the pilot, “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice,” which featured a mix of apocalyptic and superhero costumes. 

The show, which explores both the impact of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and the comic book of the same name, posed a new challenge for Davis. The material itself was heartfelt and emotional for her, which motivated her to take on the project in the first place. 

“The [crew] didn’t have fear to bring out this story,” Davis says. “It was a story that needed to be told, a history that was hidden.”

Davis drew most of the costumes herself, coming up with new concepts that pushed the boundaries of what she’d done before.

“I had to come from a different angle. I had to really think, ‘I need to make these costumes for people who aren’t really superheroes,’” Davis says. “They can’t look like Marvel, they need to have their own look.”

The disguises needed to look like they could be easily taken off, since the superheroes were everyday people who were just “slightly enhanced.” Davis didn’t take too much inspiration from the comics since the original characters didn’t appear in the pilot. 

While Davis’ career has seen incredible highs and great accomplishments, the Academy has a long way to go in acknowledging the work Davis and other Black women have done. Until then, Davis will continue to design, putting her creative mind to use on projects that require her to think outside the box and tell meaningful stories. For her, it boils down to the simplest of joys: “I like the idea of putting a puzzle together, and creating a beautiful story or an amazing film.”