Dressed: The History of Fashion · Dressed Media

Fashion and the Showgirl, Part II (Dressed Classic)

October 10, 2025·32 min·2 clips

Josephine Baker's banana skirt remains the most iconic costume in musical stage history—and it's deeply controversial.

This episode continues fashion historians April Callahan and Cassidy Zachary's exploration of fashion's relationship with the showgirl, focusing on racial dynamics and Black performers' influence. They examine how early 20th-century revues like the Ziegfeld Follies promoted an exclusively white "all-American" beauty ideal through white showgirls and ethnic masquerades. The hosts cite historian Esperanza Humphrey's article on how Black chorus girls like Florence Mills forged a "black is beautiful" aesthetic in the 1920s. They detail Irving Miller's 1925 revue "Brown Skin Models," which directly countered racist stereotypes by glorifying Black women's beauty and fashion. Josephine Baker's career is analyzed, from her early days in "Shuffle Along" to her iconic, controversial banana skirt performance at the Folies Bergère in 1926. Baker's strategic use of fashion is highlighted, starting with designer Paul Poiret sculpting a silver dress on her body in Paris. She later collaborated with houses like Vionnet, Patou, and Dior, and licensed her name to beauty products. A 1932 Vogue article is quoted acknowledging her influence on tanning trends while perpetuating racist "savage" stereotypes. The hosts note Baker's 1973 performance at the Battle of Versailles charity show, which inspired young Black models like Pat Cleveland. Designer Bob Mackie's 50-year career is linked to Las Vegas showgirl aesthetics and his iconic costumes for Cher and Carol Burnett. John Galliano's 2002 Dior couture collection featured "skimpy showgirl dresses" and extravagant feathered headdresses. Designer Jean-Paul Gaultier's lifelong obsession began after seeing the Folies Bergère on his grandmother's TV as a child. Gaultier created his own revue, "Fashion Freak Show," in 2018, which included a gender-bending portrayal of Josephine Baker by model Anna Cleveland. The episode reveals how Baker's European success never fully translated to America due to segregated audiences and overt racism. An anecdote describes Baker's apartment floor piled high with clothes from competing designers like Poiret and Molyneux. Pat Cleveland's autobiography recounts meeting Baker at Versailles, describing her "nude catsuit" and an ostrich plume headdress so large it required balance. The tone is educational and conversational, weaving historical analysis with specific anecdotes and direct quotes from primary sources. Listeners interested in the intersections of fashion, performance history, and racial identity will find this episode richly detailed. Those seeking a purely aesthetic discussion of costume design without critical historical context might find it less engaging.

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