GROW HOUSE GROW - La Josephine - Zouzou

How does one attempt to describe the magic of Josephine Baker? She was a woman who made her own rules, refusing a life under the racist constraints of her American homeland. A Parisian by choice, her innate humor and uninhibited sexuality were given free rein across the city’s most famous venues. When Josephine danced, the world watched: on any given night her besotted audience would sit, transfixed, as she wriggled and writhed that 5’7″ frame cross the stage, her famous smile beaming back into the House.

To call Josephine Baker magnetic would be an understatement, and she did little to minimize that larger-than-life persona. Her casual evening strolls were accompanied by Chiquita, her pet cheetah–compete with diamond collar and chain. Her sexual conquests were notable in that she was so open and uninhibited; she merely followed her natural inclinations, polite society be damned. She hobnobbed with the famous and the infamous, enjoying a level of celebrity and respect that her intolerant home country never fully adopted.

When the Nazis stormed France in WWII, her fierce patriotism prompted her to adopt a new role: Allied spy. Over the years (and under the broad cover of her fame), Josephine used her wit and wiles to lure secrets from oblivious officials, transport secret messages across borders (some inscribed with invisible ink onto musical scores, others pinned inside her lingerie), and successfully harbored Jewish refugees and resistance fighters in her country home.

Not one to take herself too seriously–yet a woman who knew her worth–Josephine was truly one of a kind. A showstopper, a free spirit, and a heroine in her own right. Our La Joséphine pattern, with undulating swans–aloft and bejeweled–is a nod to her elegance, playfulness, and true rarity.