The #MeToo movement has ushered in a much-needed national conversation about the power dynamics between women and men in the workplace, and one costume designer explained to TheWrap how clothes can play into those dynamics.
Elisabeth Vastola, the costume designer for the second season of “Jessica Jones,” recently told TheWrap that what someone wears can help demonstrate “a sense of independence.”
Without giving too much away, there’s a moment in “Jessica Jones” Season 2 in which Trish (Rachael Taylor), Jessica (Krysten Ritter)’s best friend, confronts a director who assaulted her when she was a child star. Vastola said it was important to think carefully about what Trish would wear in this scene.
The stylist told TheWrap that she looked for an outfit that would portray aggression, anger, and “a sense of independence, and excitement where she’s at this point where she can go back and confront him.”
“But [something that] still felt guarded … in a way make an outfit that would make it clear that her body is hers, her mind is hers, it’s her choice,” Vastola said.
The #MeToo movement “is really women dressing for women, dressing for themselves as opposed to women dressing for the male gaze or for men or for public,” she said.
“It’s really how women, very different types of women, are able to have that kind of control and command of their own wardrobe so that it’s expressing who they are and how they’re feeling themselves,” she continued. “It’s really different I think and [that scene] is a great example of that.”
“Jessica Jones” Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.