In 1927, interviewed for Vogue, Baker was reportedly “swathed in a full blue tulle frock with a bodice of blue snakeskin,” wearing an “enormous diamond ring with a very impressive diamond bracelet. Get a buddy to be a gorilla for a hilarious pair or check out our other fruit costumes so you can make a whole group ensemble. And though, in later years, her banana skirts would transform from rubber fruits to a powerful, aggressive spike version, that initial design remains revolutionary. Styled as simple polyfoam tunics, slipping into one of these banana suits means you'll be plenty yellow in no time!

she remained a woman of the people, for the people: During World War II, Baker aided the French Resistance by smuggling secret messages in invisible ink on her musical sheets. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Aside from these surface-level interests, there was a much deeper and disturbing fascination with the widely accepted belief in black people’s inherent primitiveness. The French government honored her with a 21-gun salute, making Josephine Baker the first American woman buried in France with full military honors.When she swung onstage in that fiercely swinging banana skirt in 1926, Baker brilliantly manipulated the white male imagination. After she died on April 12, 1975, more than 20,000 people crowded the streets of Paris to watch the funeral procession on its way to L'Église de la Madeleine. And for the Parisian fans who wanted to attempt to emulate her look, she sold Bakerskin, a skin-darkening lotion, and Bakerfix, a hair pomade. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Nearly a century may have passed since that revolutionary dance, but its legacy remains as relevant as ever.

And there, wearing little more than strings of pearls, wrist cuffs, and a skirt made of 16 rubber bananas, Josephine Baker descended from a palm tree onstage, and began to dance. The Spring 2011 Prada collection and most recently Marc Jacobs’s Fall 2016 runway notably referenced Baker’s signature gelled hair. Baker’s arrival in Paris coincided with a newfound obsession with black culture, a generation of French men and women who collected African art, jazz, and danced the Charleston.

For baron and fashion photographer George Hoyningen-Huene, she posed nude, draped in a diaphanous veil.

In 1963, she was, notably, the only official female speaker to give an address at the March on Washington. The flasher banana is a hilarious choice for an adult party, but if you want to stay kid-friendly, check out our adorable baby bunting or banana in pajama costumes. Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers.Crossing her eyes, waving her arms, swaying her hips, poking out her backside, she clowned and seduced and subverted stereotypes. Hordes of white Parisians flocked to the famed theater to see La Revue Nègre, a musical show that emerged from France due to the country’s fascination with jazz culture.

Offstage, Baker’s style grew ever more elaborate: Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet, two of the leading couturiers in the ’20s, dressed Baker. With the profits, Baker moved into the Château des Milandes, a 24-room mansion in southwestern France; adopted 12 children from around the world; and kept a menagerie of exotic companions such as a cheetah named Chiquita.Growing up, she cleaned houses and babysat for the wealthy; one employer burned Baker’s hands as punishment for putting too much soap in the laundry.