Despite being twice Oscar nominated, for Ray in 2004 and then Dreamgirls and 2006, costume designer Sharen Davis has yet to win the big one. She ticks a lot of the Academy’s boxes too: period clothes, stage wear, real life people. However, Ms. Davis is not just about history and glamour, her work is thoughtful, detailed and appropriate to tone.

Django Unchained is the first time Sharen Davis has worked with Quentin Tarantino, as generally he favours using different costume designers depending on the project. Yet on this evidence the director is likely to employ her services again. The date may be 1859, the location America’s deep south, but this is costume not re-enactment. As such the film has a flavour of the Old West (or rather South) with clever character notes and delicate use of colour.

Chatting exclusively to Clothes on Film just before Christmas, Ms. Davis explains her ideas for Django Unchained,...