Watchmen Costume Designer Describes How Sister Night’s Look Evolved Over Time

Watchmen's costume designer described how Sister Night's look evolved over time. Sharen Davis had the task of bringing the world of the HBO series to life with her choices around these characters. From the people of Tulsa in the past to the "present" moment and beyond, Watchmen delights in color choice and little details that fill in the blanks for viewers. Davis talked to the A.V. Club about the arduous task of creating an extension of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' lauded graphic novel. Fans might be surprised to hear that the producers and some of the creative staff had a different vision for Regina King's heroine and Davis decided that it just wouldn't cut it and pivoted to something that audiences ended up loving a lot.

"Yes, and it was quite an undertaking. I had to really meditate. I had a wonderful concept artist with me, but they gave me the time, and I took at least two weeks on creating this costume. The only note I got from the producers and directors was, 'We're thinking of a catsuit,' and I thought, 'Okay, you can guys can keep thinking that way,'" she laughed.

Davis continued, "So, I thought, 'Sister Night. Well.' Her background was she was raised in an orphanage with nuns. I thought, 'I've got to put a little of that in there, from that aspect, but I really wanted to be body-fitted.' I didn't want a cape, so I made the flowing skirt the thing that operates like a cape. I didn't want it to be all black, so I put the white turtleneck underneath. It had to be almost to her waist to break up the black and give some dimension to the costume."

The costume designer also spoke to Variety about surprising the actress with the design earlier this year.

"I was fortunate enough to have some background on Angela. Where she started from, and where she was raised in her life with Nuns," Davis began. "Every aspect of this show required a whole different mind thought. Even the individual characters that were heroes, it was all different because all of them had a different backstory."

King herself loved the look as she told Variety in the same interview.

"Damon and Sharon were already having conversations before I even got the script. So, when I got the script, there was a letter in the script. It was at a certain page, and the letter said, 'Don't open this! Don't look! Promise Regina, don't look until you get to this page.' So, I'm just reading and I'm blown away. I get to the note, and I can't wait. I'm opening it up and there's an artist's rendering of the first conversations that Sharon and Damon were having of Sister Night with my face," King remembered. "I just got chills, again, going back to that moment."

"It was all about movement. I loved the idea of her having, instead of a cape, a skirt that moves with the same energy. But, when I was running, I would take a lot of spills. Because, you're running and that back foot would get caught in the skirt," King described. "When Megan came in, she did alterations based on me shooting the first episode."

How did you like Sister Night's look in Watchmen? Let us know down in the comments!