In a tiny fictional Eastern European country in 1932, Monsieur Gustave is the concierge of the swanky “Grand Budapest” mountain hotel. A wealthy patron, Madame D., leaves him a painting, “Boy with Apple”, in her will. In order to save the picture from the dead lady’s greedy relatives, Gustave and the lobby boy Zero steal the painting. Gustave lands in prison after the deceased woman’s son accuses him of murdering the mother, but manages to escape with Zero’s help. As the concierge tries to clear up the circumstances of Madame D.’s death, dark clouds loom over the current events horizon ... “I find these black uniforms very drab.” To provide a merry counterpoint to the fascist dictatorship that will do in Monsieur Gustave, Milena Canonero unleashed a torrent of colour in her costume design. The cheerful purple of the hotel uniforms harmonises with the pink and red of the hotel’s interiors. The yellow “Klimt dress” and red velvet coat worn by Madame D. are powerful testimony to liberal, heterogeneous tastes, while the black leather coats and uniforms of the military characters portend a future of aesthetic conformity.