Clothes don’t make the woman, but they do make the actress. Wardrobe depicts a character’s story onscreen before they speak a word and clearly, Sharen Davis is a born storyteller.
Davis has been making sure some of Hollywood’s stars have the garments needed to support their character’s journeys for decades. Recently, she worked to transform Regina King from red carpet siren to hardcore superhero for HBO’s Watchmen, which premiered last night.
King recalled what it was like working with Davis at this year’s Culture Con conference, held earlier this month at Brooklyn’s Duggal Greenhouse.
The Oscar-winning actress said the experience with Davis was “amazing.”
Working across time periods, countries, and even galaxies, Davis’ imagination has created enviable wardrobes for everyone, including Beyoncé’s Deena Jones in Dreamgirls. Davis’ other credits include HBO’s Westworld, The Help, Ray and Django Unchained.
King credits Davis for her ability to bring creator Damon Lindelof’s vision to life without compromising her artistry.
“Damon was really clear that he wanted to have a nod to the cape. You know, the cape crusader, the super heroes you know, that always have a cape, but Sharen was like, ‘But we gotta make it cool! We gotta make it fly.’ So instead of the cape around the neck it’s a cape skirt,” King explained. “It still billows out when I walk.”
King revealed that it was Davis who was partly responsible for the airbrushed version of the mask that appears on her face in the pilot.
“We were trying to figure out masks. We went through so many different iterations of masks and costumes and we came up with this idea like, ‘What if she just airbrushes her mask on?’ And I thought oohhh yeaaa, that’s cool!” she recalled.
HBO’s Watchmen airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET.
