Fashion Icon: Costume Designer Sharen Davis

Costume designer Sharen Davis photo from www.theknockturnal.com

Costume designer Sharen Davis may not be a household name, but her work sure is! The two time Oscar nominated former actress from Louisiana got her start in the early 90's and is a frequent collaborator to actor Denzel Washington- working with him at least five or more times. Read on to find out more about this talented costume designer...

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Davis has gained notoriety for her work over the years, most notably for the movies Ray and DreamGirls, which she received a nominated for Best Costume Design for both period pieces and numerous nominations from the Costume Designers Guild. Equinox, a crime drama, was the first film she received a costume credit for and from there she went on to work on A Devil in A Blue Dress, Money Talks and Dr. Dolittle.

The designer worked on a variety of films through out the late 90's and 2000's, costuming favorite flicks like Rush Hour, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Antwone Fischer, Beauty Shop and the one that she claims to be her personal favorite- Akeelah and the Bee. She's done costume work for The Pursuit of Happyness, The Book of Eli and The Help, as well as for Django Unchained,  Get On Up and Fences.

In many of the movies I have seen of hers, the clothing has played the background (only when it was not supposed to for instance the electric blue suit in Django Unchained) and that is a good thing! The costume is what helps the viewer to further understand the characters, give insight to their actions and thought process and tells you what kind of person they are. I also really like the fact that although she stays true to the silhouettes of the time in her period pieces (Dreamgirls, Ray, Django, The Help) she takes creative liberties with the color schemes and patterns of the time (the bold bright colors in The Help) which brings life to the characters that are wearing them.

Davis is currently working on season two of the popular show Westworld, proving just how diverse and talented she is. Have you seen any movies that were costumed by Sharen Davis? Tell me the names of them in the comment section below!
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