Disney Legend Alice Estes Davis has passed away at the age of 93. The legendary designer was known for her work designing and dressing animated figures for iconic Disneyland attractions like it’s a small world and Pirates of the Caribbean.” Davis once remembered that “I went from sweet little children to dirty old men over night.” An iconic woman, Davis also lived a life creating memorable icons in the form of costumes for The Walt Disney Company. At this time, The Walt Disney Company nor the family of Alice Davis has shared about her death. Daps Magic will provide more updates when the family and Disney provides them.
Alice Davis was born Alice Estes in Escalon, California, on March 26, 1929. In high school, her talent for art was recognized and she was given a scholarship by the Long Beach Art Association to attend the Chouinard Art Institute in 1947. This was known as a training ground for Disney artists. While there, she met her future husband, Marc, who was an instructor at Chouinard for over 17 years. At the time they met, he was teaching a night class in animation. They would not develop a romance story until later in life.
After school, Alice began her career designing women’s lingerie at the Beverly Vogue & Lingerie House in Los Angeles. Her talent would lead to her being promoted rapidly. Soon she was head designer. She would design two lines of fashion lingerie herself. During this time, she earned a reputation in the industry for her pattern-making skills and also her expertise with different types of exotic fabrics. This would end up being very handy later in her career.
Her career with Disney would begin in the 1950s when her former instructor Mark Davis gave her a call. The studio was working on Sleeping Beauty and needed a costume for dancer Helene Stanley to wear as a live-action reference for the lead character. This would help the animators make the movements of the skirt and other fabrics that Sleeping Beauty would be wearing in the film. Alice remembered, “Marc wanted to see how the skirt worked in live dance steps, and that was my first job at Disney.” During this time, Mark and Alice grew closer and a romance blossomed. They would be married in 1956.
The work on the costume for Sleeping Beauty would eventually lead to more work for Alice Davis at Disney. Walt Disney hired her as the costume designer for Toby Tyler. She would also work on costumes for various Disney television shows during this time.
In 1963, Walt Disney asked Alice to work on a new project that would utilize her skills in what would become an iconic way. She would collaborate with art designer and Disney Legend Mary Blair on the over 150 beautiful costumes for audio-animatronic children for it’s a small world. This would involve lots of research, designing, and then the actual creation of these iconic costumes. During this time, she also came up with a system for making costumes. This included procedures, a manufacturing base, quality control, and standards for three-dimensional characters for rides and shows that would be created by Walt Disney Imagineering.
Two years later in 1965, Alice would work on bringing to life the clothing for the pirates of Pirates of the Caribbean based on drawings that her husband Marc had made. For this project, she created 47 distinct pirate costumes for the attraction. The costumes were period specific to the 17th and 18th centuries but also had a Disney feel to them. She also worked on General Electric’s Carousel of Progress and Flight to the Moon.
In 1978, Alice Davis retired from Disney. She would continue to consult Disney on projects through the years, however. She remained married to Marc until his death in 2000. In 2004, she was named a Disney Legend. On May 10, 2012, Alice was honored with a window on Main Street, USA at Disneyland. It was found next to Marc’s window.
Alice Davis Window Dedication Ceremony at Disneyland – May 10, 2012
Alice Davis was a beloved member of the Disney family and she will be missed. Daps Magic’s hearts and prayers go out to the friends and family of Alice Davis during this difficult time.
