Money Heist: Why They Really Wear Dali Masks and Red Jumpsuits

 Netflix released "Part 4" of its Spanish crime drama Money Heist (La casa de papel) in April 2020, which sees the group of robbers still wearing the series' trademark red jumpsuits and Salvador Dalí masks. The purpose of the costumes in the narrative is to disguise the true identities of the criminals underneath, and given how iconic Money Heist's costumes have become, it makes sense from a marketing perspective for the show's creators to find reasons to include them in each subsequent season. However, there's also a narrative purpose to including the same costumes in Money Heist season 4, which can be ascertained by exploring what the red jumpsuits and Salvador Dalí masks really mean.

The costumes originate in the first season, or "Part 1," worn by Money Heist's core group of complex characters. Money Heist Part 1 and 2, released in 2017, follows the story of a high-stakes heist of the Royal Mint of Spain, told largely from the perspective of a female robber, codenamed "Tokyo." Considered by many to be a refreshing new take on the heist genre, Money Heist was acquired by Netflix after its initial limited-series run on Antena 3, a Spanish free-to-air TV channel.

Money Heist became Netflix's most popular non-English program, leading the streaming service to order further installments of the series, extending it beyond the original limited series two-part format. Despite the narrative moving beyond the original caper, the eye-catching red jumpsuits and Salvador Dalí masks continue to be the preferred disguises worn by the robbers (even as the membership grows and changes) — the reason for this is largely the symbolic meaning behind the costumes' design.

The Meaning Behind Money Heist's Red Jumpsuits & Salvador Dalí Masks

The red jumpsuits in Money Heist support the show's core theme of revolution. Red is a bold color, often associated with resistance. It's the color of blood, which is likely why it has symbolic connotations with violence, as well as passion. Red flags are commonly associated with revolutionary movements in real-life as well as in fiction — for example, in Les Misérables. The professor, the mastermind calling the shots behind the scenes, even states in season 1 that group isn't just targeting the Royal Mint in order to obtain money — it was an act of "resistance" against "the system." From the show's very beginning, the robbers' ethos has always contained an element of revolution.

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