5 Fun Facts with Elisabeth Vastola

Elisabeth Vastola is a costume designer extraordinaire. With extensive work on TV and film (including Daredevil and Landline), she recently finished up work on season 2 of Jessica Jones. We caught up with Elisabeth, and she shared five fun facts with us.

1. She won her Fantasy Football League three years ago.
“My husband asked me to join his league four years ago just to fill a spot for them, and it turns out [that] I’m a force to be reckoned with. I’m a huge football fan (Go Giants!) which is probably surprising for a designer, but, truthfully, I can’t wait for football season to start. One of the people on my costume team, Nicole Cook, is also a huge football fan, and it’s great to have someone in our office who can talk shop! I’m a New York sports fan in general—especially the Yankees and the Islanders.”

2. She’s a gamer!
“Turns out I’m not a 32 year old woman—I’m a 12 year old boy! Haha, but seriously, we have a PS4 and I’m definitely on the network at least once a weekend. It’s actually super relaxing and almost meditative. I like long saga games, but I also wreck at Call of Duty and I’m working on Fortnite!”

Marvel’s Jessica Jones Costumes by Elisabeth Vastola; featuring Krysten Ritter and Rachel Taylor.  Photo Credit: David Giesbrecht/Netflix

3. She skipped high school one day to sneak out and meet Manolo Blahnik at an event in Neiman Marcus.
“I was a really good student in general, but I definitely dipped out one day to get an autograph from Manolo Blahnik! He was the king of luxury footwear at the time and I took my one pair (that I had in high school?!) to get autographed! He was really sweet and gracious and that day still makes me smile.”

4. The first fitting she was ever a part of for film was for Meryl Streep.
“Talk about an introduction into the business! I was an assistant on a film called Dark Matter, and the designer and I visited her apartment in Manhattan for her fitting. I was so nervous, but she answered the door with a silver tray that had two glasses of white wine on it for us. It was so gracious and, of course, instantly took the edge off. And, in a way, it has taken the edge off fittings for me ever since.”

5. She has a blind dog named Sebastian.
“Sebastian is a 12 year old Chinese Crested Hairless, with hair only on his head, paws and tail. He lost his eyesight a few years ago, but he is as scrappy as ever. When I take him to our office, everyone needs to put their garbage cans on tables because, otherwise, he will find them and dumpster dive (even though he is well-fed!)! I admire his chutzpah, and I’m so thankful to have had him as my first mate for so long. I also have a Chinese Crested/Yorkie mix whom we rescued four years ago named Tony. The two are quite the pair!”