
Keeping a Stiff Upper Lip Regardless
A look behind the moustaches of The Grand Budapest Hotel.
If there’s one thing that stands out more than The Grand Budapest Hotel’s singularly symmetrical grandeur, supersaturated set-pieces and sharp tailoring, it’s the myriad marvellous moustaches, beards and hairstyles which adorn the film’s leading men. Now, maintaining a grooming standard that lives up to Anderson’s meticulous eye for detail is no mean feat. After all, the film’s wide range of beards and moustaches are apt to be as wayward and whimsical as the devilish hoteliers and villainous aristocrats that wear them.
Enter Captain Fawcett’s range of Simply First Class Gentleman’s Grooming Requisites. With a repertoire replete with waxes, oils and fragrances, the good Captain prides himself on the ability to provide the perfect product for whatever situation the modern gentleman should find himself in. It should come as no surprise, then, that Captain Fawcett’s suite of grooming products was called upon by hair and makeup maestra (and longtime Anderson collaborator), Frances Hannon. Indeed, Hannon relied upon Fawcett’s waxes, balms and oils to shape, trim, and tame the famous facial foliage of The Grand Budapest Hotel.
By all accounts, Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and his impeccable moustache offer up a visual metaphor of Anderson’s cinematic aesthetic: Both are painstakingly prim, precise and picture perfect. In the Captain’s own words: “There are few real auteurs making films these days, yet Mr Anderson is most certainly one whom I hold in the highest esteem. There really is no-one else like him.” The Captain continues: “I am a man of particular tastes and find the superb symmetry and fine colour of his shots give me great pleasure. His meticulous compositions are realised with a precision to which I aspire every time I wax my whiskers.”
Hand-made in small batches, Captain Fawcett offers up a selection of timelessly elegant yet confidently understated options for the modern man. From the sandalwood scents of his firm hold Expedition Strength Moustache Wax to the soothing, shea butter softness of his Post-shave Balm, the Captain’s range caters to the hirsute and the baby-faced in equal measure. He even offers a fragrance or two that would give Monsieur Gustave’s infamous L’Aire de Panache a run for its money.
From concierges to police captains, lobby boys to literature laureates, aristocrats to assassins, Captain Fawcett’s fortuitous connection with the heroes and villains of The Grand Budapest Hotel proves that whoever you are and whatever your endeavour, to be well-groomed is to be well-armed.
Captain Fawcett’s full range of grooming requisites can be perused and purchased online at www.captainfawcett.com
Words By Will Halbert